


Heir and a Spare

by Arigatomina



Category: Bleach, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, M/M, Male Pregnancy, animal/human hybrids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 03:04:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 38,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16986933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arigatomina/pseuds/Arigatomina
Summary: Four couples learn that marriages of convenience are anything but. They're fighting like cats and dogs. Or cats and foxes, as the case may be.





	1. The Arrangement

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This fic comes from reading too many regency romances featuring arranged marriages and my never having found an excuse to enter the Bleach fandom. The premise of this fic takes mpreg to be a common fact of life. Characters also sport animal ears and tails. And, since this is my first venture into Bleach, I had to make it a crossover in order to have some pairings that I am comfortable with. If any of that makes your upper lip curl, please hit the back button now.
> 
> Pairings: IchigoxIshida, RenjixByakuya, NarutoxSasuke, KuramaxHiei

As canines went, dogs were coarse rude creatures at best. Upon first sight of each other they went into stiff bandy-legged sniffing before devolving into snarls and toothy sneers or, in the case of the youngsters, tail-wagging explosions of hyperactivity. Kurama kept a close eye on his ward as they remained at a distance from those low-class mutts. A growing fifteen, the boy stood just to his chest with bright blue eyes and short fluffy blonde hair that currently matched his ears and tail. Naruto was young, still coming to grips with his change in status, but he was fox through and through. He had no business jumping in there with the dogs. If only Naruto believed that himself.

"Look at all the dogs!" Naruto said excitedly. "That one's even smaller than me!"

"Indeed," Kurama drawled. He watched as the boy Naruto had so loudly referred to blushed, tucking his bushy brown tail closer to the back of his legs. The poor pup couldn't be a day over twelve, far too young to be entering the marriage mart. Sadly, some had to start young if they were to ever have any hope of success. A glance downward to the rabidly excited fox kit beside him drove that fact home. "Just remember, you are not-"

"His hair is even redder than yours!" Naruto pointed. "Is he a fox, too?"

Kurama stiffened when the tall dog sneered over at them. The man was striking, the red of his hair, ears, and tail a much bloodier color than Kurama's own. The last thing Kurama needed was for Naruto to drag him into a dog fight. He should have expected this, though. The boy had been living with strays for most of his life. "Learn to speak quietly or keep your mouth closed, Naruto."

Naruto bristled, looking more dog than fox as he scowled up at him. "What?" he demanded. "I was just-"

"Running your mouth like a dumb pup," the redhaired dog muttered, having come over to eyeball them better. His brown-eyed glare went right past the blonde boy to narrow on Kurama. "Foxes," he sneered. "The hell are your kind doing here? This is an open market. Rich cats never come down here."

"I don't want a rich cat," Naruto scowled. "I want a-"

"Naruto," Kurama said lightly, "one doesn't inform the competition of one's hopes when attending these things."

The dog gaped at him for a moment, then barked out a laugh. "Competition? With a fox? Like hell." His angry bluster evaporated. "The name's Renji," he said, sticking out a hand.

At least the hand was clean, Kurama noted. He gave in to the now friendly dog's need for a solid shake, determined to teach Naruto at least some good manners. "Kurama," he sighed. "And this is-"

"Naruto, yeah. Got that." Renji nodded to the kid before frowning back at Kurama. "Seriously, though. I've been coming to this mart for a year and you two are the first foxes I've seen. Are you slumming or what? Most of the cats who turn up here are bred out already." He dropped his voice, though he didn't try too hard to keep Naruto from overhearing. "I swear some of them are mousers, mange and all. I shit you not."

Naruto's mouth opened and Kurama dropped a quelling hand on his shoulder before he could ask about mousers, mange, or why the dog was talking about shit in a public setting. "Thank you for the warning. We'll keep an eye out for that."

"No problem," Renji waved. He turned away as if he hadn't heard the unspoken dismissal. Just because he wasn't used to seeing foxes here, that didn't mean he was unfamiliar with them. The prissy lot barely even counted as canines as far as he was concerned. The little blonde kit had some potential but the older one was prettier than half the cats that ventured into this place with his soft flowing red hair, two side locks framing his face and bringing out his wide green eyes. If not for the silver ears and tail he could have been mistaken for a pretty bitch rather than a male fox. He looked downright effeminate, and as stiff as any cat. Renji decided he might have to follow him and rough him up a little when this thing let out. This was dog territory, after all.

"Well?" Ichigo asked, when Renji rejoined him at their usual spot along the wall.

Renji snorted. "Probably looking to pop the kid's cherry. I warned him about the mange."

"Even the mangy ones want mates," Ichigo pointed out. He had learned that lesson the hard way a month ago when he had first stepped into this hellhole. Technically he'd been thrown headfirst through the door by his father, but once inside it didn't matter that he hadn't come willingly. He was too damn old to smell so many fertile cats and not come skulking back again. Renji had saved him from losing both his cherry and his future to a particularly ripe and excessively mangy feline. "There has to be a better way to get some tail."

Renji propped an elbow on the younger man's shoulder. Ichigo was a solidly built dog, took after his father there, but he was still young for his age. Renji counted the guy lucky to have been taken under his wing. "Not for guys like us. They give it away to the damn foxes. We have to pay - money or marriage - and no one with money would come in here."

"Except them," Ichigo frowned, looking over at the two conspicuously well-dressed foxes. They were still standing near the door, as if they'd be contaminated if they ventured too close to the rest of them. It didn't make sense. "Why would he come here to pop the kid?" Foxes should have been able to get some anywhere.

"Good question. I'm still working on that. Either way, I'm set to rough him up later. Want in on it?"

Ichigo winced, his ears slumping into his spiky hair. "I told you I don't do that sort of thing." Everyone always assumed he did, which made him very experienced with brawls. As the ruddy yellow orange son of a solid black dog he was often accused of dying his hair, which only pretentious punks did around here. He had probably been in as many fights as Renji over the years. But he didn't start trouble. He definitely wasn't one to pick a fight with some pansy fox just because he could. "You'd break him in half. Where's the sport in that?"

Renji laughed loudly, knowing full well that his voice had the fox in question darting a sharp look in his direction. "You have a lot to learn. Foxes might be the next thing down from cats, but they're wicked in a fight. Sly fuckers will face down a whole pack if they have a mind to. You should join me. If you walk away with your tail intact you'll earn yourself a ton of street-cred. Cats dig that shit."

"Not the cats around here," Ichigo muttered. He had heard plenty about Renji's street-cred. So far it hadn't done him much good. Sure, the other dogs gave him a wide berth, but the cats still wanted money or marriage before they'd put out. Ichigo had yet to see any felines worth being mated to. In fact, he hadn't even seen any worth spending money on. The few who appeared clean and fresh were liable to scratch his face off if he offered them money. Not that he had any money. Like Renji, he wouldn't be here if he had any other options.

"Cheer up," Renji said, giving him a light shake. "There are plenty of poor cats out there. Eventually one will show up who'll fall for you with one sniff. You took my advice, right?"

"Yes, Renji," Ichigo muttered. As if he needed to be told that bathing was a prerequisite before attending these things. He might be poor, but he wasn't some filthy stray. He did wonder, though, how any cat was supposed to smell him over the rank mutts milling around him. He doubted Renji had a quick answer for that one. By his own account, Renji had been coming here for a year and still hadn't gotten any tail.

The door at the far end of the room opened and there was a clamor of snarling and shoving as those closest fought to be the first ones through. With a wide grin, Renji prodded Ichigo to join the flow. Ichigo's tail slumped against his legs even as his ears twitched up at the faint scent of cat. A month of this madness and he still didn't understand how this worked. His instinct was to chase down the closest source of that tantalizing scent and pounce, and he considered himself pretty civilized for a dog. He had yet to see a mutt get his face scratched off, so how was it the cats always managed to keep the upper hand? He had to assume it was safety in numbers. One cat was slinky sexy prey. A room full of them and the sheer haughtiness could put even a fox in his place. He looked back, seeking another glance at the two foxes who had joined this dog pile, but then he was at the door and all of his attention went to the cats. As always.

When the door opened the well-used sluts rushed forward to twine and tempt the onslought of eager mutts. Across from the entrance, Byakuya's upper lip curled at the vulgar display. Those cats could be purchased for scraps, yet these mongrel dogs couldn't even afford that much. It was pathetic. Desperation filled the room as thickly as the rumbling purrs. He had known it would. This was one of the poorest mingling halls to be found without the risk of fleas. He had drawn the line at fleas. He should have drawn it at mange. He simply had never imagined a cat with such an affliction. Here it was more common than not. Had his charge not been frozen stiff-tailed in horror - and not a small amount of terror - he would likely have fled by now. Byakuya had half a mind to turn tail himself. Instead he kept his ears back, his gray eyes narrow, and his hand tightly clamped around Ishida's arm. There was no turning back now. It was too late for that. Dogs loved nothing more than a chase, after all.

Ishida was bordering on fullblown panic. The dogs reeked of sweat, panting and growling like the mongrels they were. Even their clothes were filthy. And the cats were no better. That was the worst part. He had never seen such poorly groomed cats and never wanted to again. Some of them were even in heat. What if the smell of it clung to him and one of the dogs caught scent of it? He would bolt, they would chase, and he might find himself with a mate whether he liked it or not. Then there would be no hope of deciding anything on his own terms. Not that he wanted to. This was insanity. None of these mutts could be reformed into a worthwhile mate for a single season, let alone two. He tried to edge away from Byakuya and winced when claws bit into his arm. He had thought having the cool cat at his side, with his naturally haughty aloofness, would make him feel safe. It didn't. Byakuya was the tallest cat in the room and by far the sleekest one. Any second now one of the dogs would brave his glare and then what? Would they sniff and eyeball from a polite distance or pile them like the dogs they were? Pure insanity to be positioned directly across from the door. They could have at least been slinking along the edges of the room to announce their morals. Ishida stared at one of the angsty little cats doing exactly that and wished slinking wasn't beneath Byakuya's pride. No one would ever mistake a slinking cat for a horny mouser.

Despite what Ishida believed, Byakuya knew very well that slinking had its uses. It was a good way to scope the dogs without engaging them. But he was too tall to be that discreet. Ishida was as well, whether he accepted it or not. No, their best course was to maintain position until all the dogs were present. Then they would wait, disdaining any so bold as to approach them and watching for the stragglers. Those would be the desperate downtrodden betas most likely to jump at what they had to offer. Even dogs had their pride, unfortunately. The last few trickled in and Byakuya stiffened when green eyes locked on his own for just a moment before flicking away. A fox? Here, of all places? No, he frowned. Two foxes. The little blonde was shaking, as excited as any pup, but his tail was too bushy to be anything but fox. And the green-eyed one hadn't even glanced at Ishida. The foxes were here for the same reason they were, then. His lips eased into a sly smile of amusement. This was proof that his plan had merit. This had to be the most desperate place for those with any standards. Perfect.

Kurama was impressed by how quickly Naruto threw off his baser instincts. Rather than jump into the squirming mass of heavily used tail, his attention immediately locked on to the dangerous cats slinking along the walls. Had they been looking for life mates, Kurama would have commended him for instantly challenging the most predatory of the lot. But they were on the hunt for temporary mates at best, hungry ones willing to give up their freedom for a few seasons in exchange for being set for life. He considered reminding Naruto of that before he got his face scratched off propositioning the wrong cat. Then a tail slipped by him like a shadow and his own predatory instincts were engaged. Naruto was a quick healer, and they were foxes, after all. They couldn't let the dogs have all the fun.

Ishida cringed when a hiss rent the air. Byakuya had assured him there was no threat of violence at these...gatherings. Obviously he had been wrong. Ishida looked over to where a black-eyed cat had been cornered by a small bushy-tailed...fox? What in the world was a fox doing in this doghouse? He was so young, too. Then Ishida was distracted by two dogs who had braved or ignored Byakuya's chilly glare enough to get within sniffing distance of them. Feeling like a piece of meat on display, he didn't even want to look at them. This was without a doubt the most humiliating experience of his life, and for what? All in the hopes of breeding a male on his first try so that some day said male could end up in the same position he was in. This insanity was self-perpetuating and he wanted no part of it. Byakuya was to blame for his current plight. Ishida forced himself to lift his head so he could look at the man. Byakuya's face was cool, but his eyes were narrowed with annoyance. He appeared both insulted and put out. Good. He should be feeling a touch of misery considering this entire thing had been his idea. Only the richest of independent cats would even consider buying a temporary mate. Ishida was still too miserly at heart to accept how much this venture might cost him.

Had Renji been a cat, he would have been purring. Being a dog, he swaggered, leered, and spoke in a husky voice dripping with amusement and a healthy dose of lust. The cat was a beauty, all porcelain skin and sleek lines, his black hair captured and tamed into a straight flow by white clasps that just begged to be removed. This cat was above them all and knew it, which made him even more tempting. Renji had always been one to snap at the stars, just for the fun of it of course. "The hell is a classy cat like you doing in a den like this? Looking to get a little dirty, sweetheart?"

A few steps back, Ichigo choked back a snort and ended up coughing into his hand. The brass balls of the bastard. There were easier ways to get ones face clawed off. One look at the regal cat watching the crowd with open condescension and Ichigo had been set to avoid him at all costs. Yeah, there was a risk of mange in twining and rubbing with the rest of them, but at least he'd get to brush a few tails before it was over. This cat's black tail was cutting the air behind him so sharply it would probably leave a welt on anyone foolish enough to go near it. Ichigo knew why Renji was risking it, though. The cat's body language screamed fuck off and die, but his scent...damn. Now that was worth a few scratches. That was why Ichigo had followed along. He didn't need Renji to tell him the odds of cats like these ever showing their tails around here again were zilch. He winced at the icy set down Renji received for his efforts and looked over the other one. Not as tall or pretty as the ice queen, his hair was short with just the front long enough to frame his face. His dark eyes were lowered, covered by thin rectangular glasses. But he smelled ripe and nervous, with his sleek black tail curled tightly around the side of his left leg. Bad move that. Had he been alone he'd have been mauled by now. The only nervous cats who survived this pack were the dangerous ones who slunk along the edges with their claws and teeth out.

The red dog was bold and coarse and everything Byakuya had intended to avoid. He couldn't imagine suffering more than five minutes of his company without employing a muzzle. The low class mutt would set his entire house on its ears the first time he opened his mouth. But that hair... Byakuya had given up the possibility of red when he had refused to unite with the fox his advisers had chosen for him. To see such red in a dog was bizarre. Perhaps there was some wolf swimming around in that mixed blood of his. He certainly had the build for it with those long lean muscles that positively oozed masculinity. It was off-putting, to say the least. In any other setting he would have called it brazenly vulgar. Here he supposed it was simply honest advertising. Even in proper clothing the red would never be mistaken for anything but a street dog, and an alpha at that. His only redeeming quality was his hair, as thick and long as his tail. Byakuya was forced to make that comparison because the tip of said tail gave a bold swipe against his leg. His eyes flashed at the gall of the mutt. "Are you so feeble-minded you mistake me for a mouser?"

"No," Renji grinned. "I can't quite see you squirming and purring like a well-stuffed...mouser." Slut was the better term considering the heavily-used cats around here rarely had to work for a living. But this cat smelled as pure as the skittish teen standing beside him. Renji appreciated that too much to insult him for it. There were plenty of other things he could insult him for, after all. "I see you as a high cat come down from his perch for a bit of fun. Want to muss up that hair a little, princess?"

"Hardly," Byakuya sniffed. His hair took hours to arrange as befitted his station. The additions he had gained over the years made it so complicated he couldn't even repair it on his own. Not that a dog who tied his only redeeming quality back in a sloppy tail would understand. He really should send the fool on his way. Just teaching him to quit with the insulting endearments would take months of effort. His gaze flicked away from the bold red and swept past the center knot to the stragglers. There was an awkward brown pup near the door who would be easily led. Far too young and short for him, but he might serve Ishida - with a liberal dose of alcohol to speed things along, if necessary. He glanced at his charge and his eyes snapped open wide. Ishida was blushing. Worse than that, his tail was up. "Ishida!" Byakuya hissed.

Ishida jumped and sent a startled look around. He followed Byakuya's shocked stare and felt his face flame as he quickly snapped his tail down and tight against his leg. He hadn't moved it intentionally. He had only been looking. And smelling, he forced himself to admit. The dog's tail was a gentle swish rather than a hyper or threatening swipe. And he hadn't come any closer, remaining behind and to the side of the red a few feet away. But he had stared at him for so long that Ishida had been irritated into staring back. That was when he had smelled him. It was tempting and cloying, and it made him want to sway in the same rhythm as that orangish yellow tail. He kept his eyes down and hoped his tail hadn't been swaying. Bad enough it had come up at all. Just from the scent of a strange dog? How shameless. If not for Byakuya's presence he might well have been twining and rubbing with the rest of the cats. Yet he would never have come here at all if not for Byakuya. He glared at his feet and hoped that bold red mutt did something so outrageous Byakuya would march them both out of this...den of iniquity. He could still feel those brown eyes staring at him, could still smell him, and how was he supposed to not react to that? He was a cat, after all.

With another coaxing swipe of his tail, Renji drew that frigid gray glare back to him. "Looks like your friend wants to get a little dirty, even if you don't." He watched that pale upper lip curl, but it was Ichigo who responded first. The spoilsport.

"Leave him alone, Renji," Ichigo muttered. The blue eyed cat was as frozen as the ice queen now. Drawing attention to that wouldn't help anything.

Renji grinned and took that last step, the one that put him so close the rich cat would have to retreat or react. He was looking forward to either. "A good idea. What do you say, princess? Let's leave them alone to get to know each other better, while you and I do the same. It doesn't have to be dirty if you don't want it that way. I think you'd like it, though..."

"You are incorrigible," Byakuya bit out.

"Have to be," Renji agreed cheekily. "Stiff cat like you needs a bold dog to loosen him up. I'd have you limp and purring in no time."

"You have certainly excelled at the limp part." Byakuya raised an eyebrow when the dog's face went blank, then flared with surprise and anger. Unlike Ishida, he wasn't one to succumb to a tempting scent. Vulgar talk certainly didn't appeal to him, either. He released Ishida's arm and murmured into his back-turned ear. "Keep that tail to yourself unless you're certain he's the one you want. There are young pups here who would be far easier to manage than a full-grown dog. Easier to dispose of as well." He turned with a flick of his tail and walked away, confident the bristling red would follow hot on his heels. It was time to find out if that hair was worth the price of a muzzle, assuming he could even locate one big enough to muffle that mouth of his.

Ichigo stepped forward the moment they stepped away. He wasn't one to look a lone cat in the tail, but this particular tail was once again clamped tightly around the cat's leg. Things would get messy if the other dogs spotted that, so he positioned himself close enough to obscure it. Too close for the cat, unfortunately. He gritted his teeth, hoping the cat wouldn't bolt. He was pretty sure he'd chase him if he ran. Instinct and all. "I'm Ichigo."

"I didn't ask and I don't care," Ishida snapped, pointedly not looking at him. He couldn't believe Byakuya had left him alone with the very dog whose scent had him behaving like a mouser. There was no one between him and the door now. He could run away and deal with Byakuya's lectures later. He would have done just that if he weren't afraid the strange city outside that door might be even worse than this room.

Ichigo scowled, deciding he had liked the cat better when he hadn't talked. That was typical, though. No one really came to places like this in order to talk. Most cats here were too busy purring to get a word out. He wondered what it would take to make this cat pur. "Ishida," he said, and earned himself a fleeting dark-blue glance. The glasses would have to go first. Who ever heard of a purring cat with glasses on?

Ishida kept his mouth shut. He could have made a snide comment about the fact that the dog could obviously hear. Had he been Byakuya he might have sounded haughty enough to drive the dog away. Or maybe that would only encourage him. This dog had come over with the red one, after all. The bold red one Byakuya had led away. Ishida's eyes widened and he looked around the room. Byakuya was leaning against a wall, speaking to the red dog with his lips pulled into a contemptuous smirk that never failed to annoy the hell out of whoever was its unfortunate recipient. Ishida stared at the pair. Shock coursed through him, followed by disbelief. That one? After all of his talk about finding a poor submissive beta, Byakuya wanted that one? Something soft wisped past his leg. Ishida jumped back, his tail fluffing to twice its size.

"Sorry," Ichigo grimaced. A whole month of coming here and he was no better than a horny first time pup. It was pathetic.

The dog looked sorry. That formerly swishing tail was now stiff along the back of his legs, all but the tip of it hidden from sight. He was even sporting a light blush. Ishida forced his own tail to smooth out. Compared to the red, this dog was downright civilized. And he smelled wonderful. He could be a lot worse. Ishida braced himself and blurted, "Are you here for marriage?"

"Eh?" Ichigo frowned as it suddenly occured to him that Renji might be wrong. Renji had assumed these cats were here for the same reason as the foxes - slumming it with the poor and desperate. But what if he was wrong? He stared at the sharp eyed cat for a moment, then dismissed the notion. No self respecting rich cat would come to a slum in order to marry. "I'm here for tail," Ichigo said plainly. He was a little sorry when the cat stiffened, his face pinched and insulted. "That's the truth," he shrugged. "A bit of brush and rub in here is all I'm likely to get. I can't afford to support babies, let alone a mate." He didn't say anything about the cats willing to rent out their tails. They were skanky and mangy and this cat would probably throw a fit if he even mentioned them, let alone admitted that even their tails would be better than none. "Why are you here? You're obviously not here for the brush and rub."

Ishida drew himself up with a heady dose of annoyance. That very much depended upon the tail. He might be more reserved than this lot, but he was still a cat. This dog had a tail he wouldn't mind twining his own around. In private, of course, within the limits of a carefully outlined agreement. Ichigo lacked money and wanted tail. He had both. And, he reminded himself, at least this dog was civilized. Aside from that brush of his tail, he hadn't made a single attempt to maul him. "I'm here in search of someone like you," Ishida admitted frankly. The confounded look on the dog's face warned him he would have to be more blunt. He sighed, wondering how one went about buying a temporary mate without insulting him.

In the far corner of the room, Naruto had blown right past potential insult and headlong into outrage. The feisty cat he had chosen was spitting mad and Naruto loved the smell of it. The cat was no bigger than him, but was sleek and strong, with his black hair feathered in back and long enough in the front to frame his flashing eyes. His tail was a slender whip of temptation. Naruto wanted to pin him down and lick him all over. He was especially looking forward to the scratches. The cat had some wicked sharp claws. "You wouldn't be here if you had the money to support yourself," Naruto pointed out. "I have lots."

"Get this through your thick head," Sasuke snarled. "I am not for sale." The damned fox just sighed and insisted again that he had to be. He wouldn't be here otherwise. There was truth in that, which was what infuriated him so badly. He had come to this despicable place out of desperation. It was either marry or steal and he refused to become a criminal. Selling himself was fast becoming a possibility. But he would sooner bed down with the ugliest mongrel in this place than sell his own offspring, let alone to a damned fox. "Fuck off, already!"

"But I want to fuck you," Naruto huffed. That was the whole point. "And you want me to. I can smell it. We'll be great together. And once we have two boys, you'll be set for life."

Sasuke growled, a low deadly sound that he had honed specifically to scare away horny mutts. It had the opposite effect on the damned fox, who licked his lips and edged so close he was sorely tempted to swipe at him. The attraction was undeniable. There would be no milktoast rubbing and twining. It would be a rabid tumble of scratching and biting with the promise of exhausted satisfaction in the end. He wouldn't have minded a fling with a fox, to finally get something out of being a cat. But this fox wanted to breed him and keep the children he bred. That would never happen. "I will mate for life or not at all. Buy your children from someone else."

Naruto winced despite himself. When it was put like that, it did sound bad. He hadn't really considered it a matter of buying the kids, just...paying for the temporary mate needed to make them. Once he had the kids he'd never be pressed to marry and he could live his life however he wanted. He could have crazy sex with wild cats like Sasuke every night for the rest of his life if he wanted. Naruto blinked, squinted, and then gaped. "Oh! If we mated for life that means we could have sex every night for the rest of our lives!"

Sasuke cringed, wondering if the damned fox could possibly be any louder. "You are a certifiable dumbass," he snapped. "How do you function?"

"No," Naruto insisted, "it's true! And if we were married we wouldn't have to have any kids for years. Because we'd already be married. Married people have kids whenever they want. That would be a load off. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with the kids once I got them. I just figured you would take them with you when I paid you off. I guess that wouldn't have worked, anyway."

"Wait," Sasuke said sharply. "You came here to pay someone to be your mate just long enough to produce two males, and then you were going to pay that person to take the children and leave?"

"Well...yeah. As long as they're alive, I have my heirs out of the way. I don't need to keep them for that. But if we were married, then-"

"No," Sasuke sneered. "I apologize for misunderstanding. Temporary mates, then I get the money and children? I'll accept that proposal."

Naruto blinked, started to smile, then frowned instead. "But if we were married-"

"We can have sex nightly until the children come along," Sasuke scoffed. "We'll both be sick of it by then."

"Do you think so?" Naruto asked curiously. The attraction was like fire in his veins. He couldn't imagine it just going out. "I always figured I'd get addicted to sex once I started having it."

Sasuke had taken the fox to be close to his own age. Now he realized he was decades older, mentally if not physically. "You get addicted to the act, not to the person you're doing it with." Suspicion bloomed into outrage on Naruto's face. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No, I don't speak from personal experience. Your nose should have told you that much already."

"Oh," Naruto said sheepishly. "Right."

Had Kurama known how easily Naruto had secured his target, he would have been embarrassed by his own difficulties. Hiei was an enigma. Even after being cornered, the little black cat paid more attention to the dogs and cats filling the room than he did to him. Hiei wasn't here for marriage, children, or money. He certainly wasn't interested in brushing tails. Aside from tossing his name out, he had ignored Kurama's probing questions, shrugged off his proposition, and snorted at his flirting. Worst of all, he seemed to have no reaction whatsoever to Kurama's scent. That was unfathomable. He had never met an unmated cat who wasn't intrigued by his scent at least a little bit. Perhaps that was the answer. "Are you here to catch your mate cheating?" Finally the cat stopped perusing the crowd and looked directly at him. His wide red eyes gave him a strange mix of danger and innocence.

"I have no mate. I killed the last dog who attempted it. Don't make the same mistake he did."

"I'm a fox, not a dog," Kurama pointed out. Now that he had his attention, he was eager to hold onto it. He gave his most appealing smile. "We don't force our attentions onto others. We draw them to us."

"How nice for you," Hiei said blandly. His eyes moved back to the twining mass of cat and dog. There were no female cats here. There were, however, plenty of dogs who smelled of them. Following each of them would be pointless. Coming here had been a waste of his time. He turned away only to stiffen when a hand caught his arm. The fox had made no attempt to touch him up till now. That was the only reason he hadn't minded being shadowed. As part of the upper class, foxes tended to be civilized and, as Kurama had mentioned, they weren't known to force their attentions onto others. He supposed they weren't known for being ignored by the recipients of that attention, either. He stared at that hand for a long moment before lifting his eyes. "Release me." It wasn't a request.

The cat's scent bled a willingness to react with violence if necessary but not a hint of fear. Pleased with that, Kurama released his arm. Having his undivided attention was enough for now. "If it isn't a straying mate, then who is it you're looking for? Perhaps I can help."

As a rich fox, he probably could. The question was whether or not he would, and how much it would cost. Hiei stared at his red hair, so at odds with his silver ears and tails. A front, he suspected. "I have nothing to offer you," Hiei informed him. "I doubt I could breed even if I wanted to."

Rage bubbled to life in Kurama's stomach. None of that made it to his quiet voice. "A dog?"

The corner of Hiei's mouth twitched to reveal one small fang. It was a smile devoid of humor. "A pack of dogs." He could have held his own against a single dog even then.

"I take it they're all dead now," Kurama murmured. That fang peeked out again, but this time there was dark humor in those red eyes. "A shame. I would have liked to do that for you. I need a mate to keep the busybodies from trying to marry their children to me. An heir would be convenient, but isn't strictly necessary so long as they all assume I'm doing my best to make one."

The fox still wanted him. Hiei respected that. He himself wasn't one to change his mind once he had decided his course. As far as temporary dealings went, he had made worse. "Nothing binding. No guarantees."

"Except monogamy," Kurama smiled politely, "for the duration of our association."

Hiei snorted at that. It was no concession on his part. "I'm looking for a white cat. Female."

Kurama's eyes widened. "You won't find one of those here."

"Obviously not. I thought I might recognize her scent if any of these had been near her." He looked back over the dogs. "She is my twin sister, separated from me at birth. She was given the name Yukina, but may no longer go by it. Red eyes, sea-green hair, and white ears and tail."

"Striking," said Kurama. If her face looked anything like Hiei's that coloring would make her a veritable jewel. "Working class?"

"Rich," Hiei spat. "Our mother was impregnated by a servant. She died giving birth. Yukina was kept for the resemblance. I don't know the family name or where they resided. The servant was born in this area. I have sniffed out his kin," whose scent was similar enough to his own to be unmistakable, "but they know nothing of him after childhood."

"Do you believe he's still alive?" They were speaking of Hiei's father. He wondered how Hiei had learned what little he knew about the man. He also wondered who if anyone had raised him. He was far too...refined for this town, let alone this pit of mutts.

"I can't rule out the possibility," Hiei sighed. He had been haunting these streets for so long he doubted the man would ever return, if he was even still alive.

"If she is still a member of the upper class, I'll find her," Kurama promised. "Beautiful white female cats are very rare."

"I never said she was beautiful."

Kurama smiled. "You didn't have to. She's your sister, after all." His smile widened when Hiei scoffed at that bit of flattery. "Please join me while I check on my ward. He's on the same mission I am and, I fear, far too young to be trusted alone."

"Yet you did leave him alone," said Hiei.

"Yes, I know. I'm far too old to be tempted away by a bit of tail. But, in my defense, your tail is especially tempting." Hiei snorted softly, just as Kurama had expected him to. He wondered if Hiei was unaware of his own appeal, or if he took it for granted to the point he didn't consider it worth commenting on. Kurama was determined to comment on it often until he determined which was the case.

.-.

Sakura was livid. Sasuke had known she would be when she learned he had gone to one of those so-called marriage marts. Her reaction to the proposal he had accepted was even worse. He did his best to ignore her as he began packing. There wasn't much to pack up. They had been in this hovel for less than a month and had brought little more than the clothes on their backs. One would think it a home sweet home from the way Sakura was carrying on. She kept her voice down, but the things she said made him long to wash her mouth out with soap. He would have if they hadn't been nearly out of that as well.

"You might as well be a prostitute," Sakura wailed quietly. "Selling yourself to a dog?"

"A fox."

"Whatever! It's wrong, Sasuke. I can't believe you would even consider such a thing. Have you lost your mind? How could you ever-"

"Sakura," Sasuke hissed, whipping around to point at the baby bed. "Your kitten is starving to death. She hasn't cried in over a week. Your milk is dried up and she can't survive on mushy potatoes. She needs formula, milk, real food." His eyes flashed over her, lingering on the thinning hairs of her white tail. "So do you, for that matter. Instead of asking if I've lost my mind, try finding your own."

Sakura wilted, ears ducking into her pink hair, arms wrapping tightly around her waist. "I can go back to work..."

Sasuke's glare was both scathing and heartless. "And be raped again? We can't feed one extra mouth. We don't need another." She let out a little sob and he turned away to rip the blanket off his bed.

"I'll keep a knife on me this time," Sakura muttered, with just a hint of her old stubbornness.

Sasuke gnashed his teeth, determined not to give in. She wanted hugs and reassurances that he would stay and nothing would change. Then when the kitten died she would need even more hugs. That did no one any good, least of all her. "If your claws weren't enough, a knife wouldn't be, either. You're never going back there." He let out a disgusted breath and rounded on her. "For fuck's sake, Sakura. You can't even step outside without cringing. Why are you fighting this?"

Bursting into fullblown tears, Sakura dropped onto the makeshift stool beside the baby and scrubbed her hands over her eyes. "I don't want you to marry for money!"

"I'm not marrying him, I'm mating with him, and only long enough to produce two males."

"It's the same thing, except worse!" Sakura exclaimed. "You're mating for money. You're selling your – your reproductive abilities for money. You! You swore you'd never mate unless it was for life and now you're selling yourself and it's all my fault! I wish we had never met. Then you'd be-"

"Dead," Sasuke snorted. "Chewed up in an alley like so much garbage. You did me a favor. So far I've done a piss-poor job returning it. Face it, there is no work for a male cat outside prostitution. I would have ended up selling myself eventually. This is dog territory and they'll never let us forget it. Yes, I'm being paid to breed, but I'm also being paid to keep the children." He laughed and his eyes flicked to the crib, softening on the kitten sleeping there. "You know I've always wanted children of my own."

"With a mate for life," Sakura sniffled.

"Because I couldn't see any way of securing a future without one," Sasuke shrugged. "He's paying me so I'll never need a real mate. And before you get all worked up again, this fox is hot. I'd pay to fuck him if I had the money for it. Instead he's the one paying me. I'm getting all the perks out of this deal."

"Sasuke," Sakura protested with a distasteful grimace. "I don't like that sort of talk."

"Well, it's true," Sasuke muttered. He usually hated it when she got all prim on him, but it was better than the weeping. He was sick to death of that.

"I'll never understand your attraction for canines." She drew herself up, mustering at least a pretense of pride. "If you're set on selling yourself to some fox, then so be it. Kitty and I will miss you."

Sasuke stared at her for a long moment before turning away with an exasperated snarl. "Stop being a bitch and start packing. You know damn well I'm taking you with me."

"You can't!" Sakura snapped. "You can't bring an unrelated female and her baby to your new mate's house. He'd think Kitty is yours."

She really was a bitch sometimes. He had hoped the mood swings would stop after her pregnancy. Instead they had gotten worse. Maybe it was the lack of steady food. His own temper was also short these days. "Pack your things, Sakura. And stop calling her Kitty. She needs a real name."

"I won't name her until I know she's going to survive."

That stopped him cold. He had wondered if that were the reason. Any real man would have happily turned criminal to keep a new mother from having such a fear. Would he have done so if things had turned out differently today? He liked to think so, but in his heart he doubted it. He had never had much. He would sooner sell what little he did have than steal from someone else. No, he wouldn't have turned thief. He'd have turned prostitute. And Sakura and the kitten would have had nice cases of mange to go with their freshly filled bellies. Honestly, Sakura should have been as relieved by the deal he had made as he was. He certainly wouldn't get any diseases from a virgin fox kit.

He turned with a long sigh. "She's going to survive now, Sakura, so start thinking of a name for her. She isn't just going to survive, either. She'll flourish. You can get her the prettiest baby dresses this side of the world." He looked over Sakura's pale face. She had been at her hair again. Every time he left she cut a little more of it off. It was barely past her chin now. She was convinced the short hair would make her too ugly to tempt anyone who might break in while he was gone. She was wrong. She could shave her head bald and she'd still be too damned pretty for her own good. "You can pretty yourself up as well, you know. No one will touch you there. I'll make sure of that."

Sakura's green eyes shimmered, but she was past the hysterics now and blinked the tears away. "You really think he'll let you bring us with you?"

Sasuke gave a slow smirk. "He wants my tail so badly I could bring an entire harem. What's one girl and a kitten?"

"You egotistical prick," Sakura sniffled past a wan smile. "You better explain to him that Kitty isn't yours. I don't want any hairy eyeball from a jealous fox."

"Of course she's mine," Sasuke scoffed. "I delivered her. You're both mine. You'll be stuck with me until the day you get married."

"That's a joke," Sakura said with a weak laugh. "You know no one will ever marry me now."

"Then you'll always be mine," he shrugged. "At least now I'll have the means to keep you both." He couldn't see Naruto having a problem with that. It was his tail the fox wanted, after all, not his heart.

.-.

Ichigo's father was giddy with excitement as if he had just announced he was marrying a princess. Ichigo was forced to evade three lunging attempts to glomp him before he landed a good kick to the man's ass and stomped a foot on his shoulders to keep him down. That still didn't stop him from blubbering. Unfortunately.

"It's a temporary arrangement," Ichigo muttered. "If we last till he has two boys, we'll reconsider whether or not we want to get married for real or go our own way."

"Grandsons," his father whimpered ecstatically. "Do you hear that, Darling? Grandbabies!"

"He said if," Ichigo's little sister Karin pointed out. With short and straight black hair, and a typically sober if not outright skeptical look on her face she might have made a good boy cat if she hadn't been born a girl dog. She was often the voice of reason now that she was the lady of the house. "Sounds like a big if to me."

"Exactly," said Ichigo. "You haven't met this cat. He's..." Uptight, skittish, yet surprisingly blunt when you got right down to it. He looked breakable with his pale skin, slender build and easily flustered tail. But all Ichigo could think safe enough to explain to his family was that, "He wears glasses."

"A nerd?" Karin demanded.

"There are nerdy cats?" their little sister Yuzu asked curiously. With her fluffy light brown hair, she looked the most like their late mother. "I've never heard of a nerdy cat."

Ichigo had been aiming for prude, but he supposed nerd was close enough. "We'll never get along, but I figure it's at least worth a shot." He wasn't going to mention the money. Once he had moved into Ishida's house his father wouldn't think anything of him sending gifts home to his sisters. Assuming they were both still here. His insides squirmed as he reluctantly let his father up off the ground. "There's something else. Renji is hooking up with a cat who lives in the same house as Ishida." Or on the same estate, or in the same neighborhood, or whatever. He still wasn't sure what 'household' meant for such rich cats. "He's bringing Rukia with him."

"That's not fair!" Karin exploded. "It's bad enough you're leaving. Why do you have to take Rukia? I just started teaching her soccer!"

"And Renji wanted me to ask if I can take Karin along to keep her company," Ichigo finished in a belabored voice.

"Oh," Karin blinked. "That's fine, then."

"It is not!" Yuzu cried. "Daddy! Tell them it's not fine!"

"Well," Ichigo's father started, as he finally climbed up off the floor. "I think-"

"It's a wonderful idea," Karin said firmly. "You know how confused poor Rukia will be living in a cat's house. She's such a sweet young girl. She deserves a comfortable home."

"She really does," their father sighed. "She's so sweet, and so young, too. Rather nubile, in fact..." His leer, combined with his shaggy black hair and the stubble on his chin, was that of an unrepentant dirty old man.

Ichigo elbowed him in the gut before he could start in on how fertile Renji's little sister smelled. His father had known Rukia's secret at first sniff. Rukia might be nearly as short as Karin, but she was closer to Ichigo's age. As far as his father was concerned that made her ripe for the plucking. It was a wonder Renji ever let her come over. "If that's settled, let's get packed. You'll only be staying for a few weeks," he warned Karin. That also helped soothe the pouting Yuzu. "Maybe less, if Ishida throws me out sooner."

Karin rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. Rukia and I will help you with the nerdy cat. Nerds adore little girls. Everyone knows that."

That was a new one on him. If so, he hoped it proved true for prudes as well as nerds. He suspected he could use all the help he could get.

.-.

"From today on, you are officially a cat. Thank me." Renji's proud smile crumbled into a grimace. She kicked damned hard for a cat.

"Maybe I don't want to be a cat," Rukia growled. "Did you ever think of that? I happen to like being a dog."

"But you're not," Renji shrugged. "You're a cat. And now you get to be one. So...thank me?"

"Fuck you!" She kicked him again, just for good measure. "Go screw your rich cat and leave me out of it."

Renji crouched down to rub his abused leg. "You'll have to stop using language like that now that you're a cat." The rumbling growl she gave was worthy of the biggest dog. He had taught her a little too well. "You'll have to start wearing dresses, too, 'cause...well, you're a girl cat."

"I should rip your balls off and feed them to you," Rukia snarled. "I might be a girl, but I'll be damned if you're going to make me a cat! I refuse. End of discussion."

"Girl cats don't talk about ripping balls off," Renji said weakly. "I know you like being a dog, and you know I like you being a dog. You make a great bitch. But the fact is, you're going to go into heat eventually and everyone will know you're a cat. No amount of filth will hide that smell. I've got the guys around here whipped enough to stay off you, but word will get out. Then you'll be stuck in. In, as in, inside. Hiding. Trapped. For the rest of your life. So...suck it up and get ready to be a cat, damn it." He eyed her warily, keeping his arms wrapped protectively around his shins. "Okay...?"

"You're a fucking bastard," Rukia stated. She folded her arms over her chest and eyed him with contempt. "You're also a dumbass. You should have considered the future when you decided to make me a dog. What do I know about being a cat? Prissy pansy fucks with their noses and tails in the air. You can put me in as many dresses as you like and it won't change anything. They'll take one look at my ears and dub me a freak. I'm not doing it and you can't make me."

With a growl of his own, Renji shot to his feet. She could kick like a bitch but she was still half his size. "Yes you are and yes I can. I'll truss you up and carry you in there if I have to. Then they'll really think you're a freak. This is for your own good. You know what happens to female cats around here. It ain't happening to you." He ran a hand over his head, fingering the tips of his own ears. Hers had been just as sharp when they had first met. For a few years he had passed her off as his sister, blaming some wolf blood for their ears. Then her ears had filled out so much there was no mistaking them for anything but cat ears. He had done what he had to. There was no helping it now. "We might be able to scrape the glue off."

Rukia scoffed at that. "Then they'll be bald as well as bent."

"Well, at least you can stop trimming your tail now. That's something, right?"

"I happen to like trimming it into a point. The fox look is rakish."

Renji groaned. "Girl cats don't look rakish. Even girl dogs don't look rakish. And pointy tails sure as hell aren't limited to foxes. I have a pointy tail and I'm as far from a fox as you can get and still be a canine."

Rukia's eyes narrowed. "Or maybe you are a fox and I'm not the only one masquerading as the wrong species. It would be just like a fox to adopt a girl cat and pass her off as a boy dog."

"Now that's not fair. I never passed you off as a boy. You did that all on your own. I bet you're binding your tits even now."

Rukia covered her chest with a furious blush. "They're just small, you bastard! Some women just have small ones. Not that you'd know when you only sniff around boy cats."

Renji laughed, both at her complaint and her embarrassment. "Be glad I like the boy cats. I hate to think what would have happened to you otherwise."

"I would have scratched your eyes out is what," she sniffed. "I suppose that's one good thing about being a cat again. I can grow my claws out." She lifted a hand to eye her bluntly cropped nails. "I have missed them."

Renji hadn't. His arms still bore the scars from that violent encounter with the skittish black kitten she had been. On the upside, those claw marks had made his erotic tales more believable to his mates. He wondered what Byakuya would think of them. Byakuya would probably guess the truth once he met Rukia. Those sharp eyes of his didn't miss much. His nose didn't, either. Damn that smug cat for pointing out his virginity in a room spotted by his mates. Good thing he was moving up in the world. He'd lose a lot of street cred once word got out.

"Do you like him?" asked Rukia. She huffed at Renji's blank look. "Your rich cat. Are you just after his tail or do you like him?"

"Just the tail," Renji said flatly. "He's a first-rate priss and then some. I'll take his money, nip some chunks out of that tasty tail of his, and then we'll be on our way. I figure a year and a half if I can get him breeding fast. Shouldn't be a problem."

"The girl cat in me thinks you're a pig," Rukia stated. "The boy dog in me thinks you're a fox." She shook her head. "How the hell did you luck into this deal?"

"Not luck, honey, skill. Pure manly skill. Plus, I think he has a thing for my hair. I always knew the red would work in my favor one of these days."

"You won't think so if you end up getting an entire litter of red bitches on him. Who ever heard of a red cat?"

"It doesn't matter what color they are. They'll be boys. Boys are what he wants and I aim to please."

"Of course you do," she muttered disgustedly. "And what exactly am I supposed to do in this rich cat's house while you're busy filling him up with brats?"

Renji grinned suddenly. "I almost forgot! Ichigo is tying up with a cat in the same household I am. I asked him to bring Karin along to keep you company till you get settled in. You see? I've thought of everything. You really should thank-" He saw the foot coming and sidestepped it, but she just swept it around and slammed it into the back of his knee instead of his shin. He let out a bark of pain as he hit the floor hard. "You little bitch!"

"Cat," Rukia corrected him lividly. "If I can't forget, neither can you. What the hell were you thinking dragging Ichigo into this mess? He's barely more than a puppy!"

"He's older than you. Ow, damn it! Will you stop that?"

"Just a horny puppy and you dragged him into that den? It's bad enough you go there without you perverting innocent puppies like him!"

"If you must know, that's where we first met. His dad threw him through the door. I just helped him settle in. You might say I rescued- Ow, you fucking bitch! Watch the tail!" Temper finally snapping, he grabbed that hard booted foot and yanked her to the floor. "That's it, I'm trussing you up. I'm still bigger than-" He yiped painfully. "Not the face, you idiot! Or the hair! Stop that! I can't show up bruised and...ow, damn it, that hurts!"

"That was for Ichigo! This is for Karin, so hold still and take it like a man, you coward!"

"Men don't fight with girl cats, damn it. You hold still and-" He really should have seen it coming. He had saved up for months to get those steel toed boots, knowing she'd need something to replace her claws once she started going into heat and the secret was out. But never in a million years had he imagined she would use the tricks he had taught her on him. He curled into a piteous ball, his throat too tight for the horrified recriminations he should have been spitting out. All he could manage was a high pitched whine.

"Hah!" Rukia spat. "Let's see how many boys you breed on him now."

He watched through blurry eyes as she stomped away. This wasn't over. She hadn't popped either of his balls, they just felt as if she had. The pain was bound to stop soon. Then he'd pounce the little bitch, get those boots off her, and hogtie her. He just hoped he wasn't still limping when they made it to Byakuya's place. Bad enough having to explain the trussed up cat under his arm without having a swollen crotch to contend with, too.

.-.

"It's not fair," Naruto grouched. His arms were folded over his chest as he glared, not at Kurama, but at the black cat seated beside the fox. "Why couldn't I go with Sasuke?"

"Because you weren't invited to do so," said Kurama. He still wasn't sure how Naruto had managed to snare his quarry. The volatile cat had given him a dismissive glance before telling Naruto where to send the car. Then he had stalked away without another word. "The car will be picking him up this evening. You'll see him soon enough."

"If he even shows up. What if he doesn't? I don't even know where he lives!"

"If he doesn't show up, then he isn't interested. You'll find someone else."

"But-"

"Naruto," Kurama frowned. "Did he give you any reason to think he'll change his mind?"

"No..."

"Then stop worrying about it."

Naruto growled under his breath. That was easy for Kurama to say. Kurama hadn't let his cat out of his sight for even a second. Kurama had even gotten out of the car and gone over to watch as Hiei retrieved his belongings. The little brown sack was now on the floor near his feet. Naruto wondered what was in it. He had been watching out the car window, so he had seen how high up in the tree Hiei had gone to fetch it. It couldn't weigh much. Did Sasuke keep his stuff in a tree, too? Maybe it was a cat thing. Naruto had kept his belongings behind a dumpster when he had been poor. Kurama had wanted to throw it all away at first. Eventually he had bagged the stuff together with some powder to take the stench out. Sasuke hadn't smelled bad at all, so he probably kept his stuff somewhere clean. Naruto really hoped it wasn't up in a tree. He was bad at climbing, always had been. Maybe if he took Sasuke out on the roof he would stay out of the trees altogether. The roof was taller than any tree on their property, anyway.

It wasn't long before Naruto broke the silence again. All his plans and worries would mean nothing if Sasuke didn't show up. "If he doesn't show, I'm hunting him down," he muttered.

Kurama didn't bother looking up this time. "Foxes do not hunt down cats, Naruto."

Naruto's face twisted as he sarcastically mouthed the words. He was sick of being told what foxes did and didn't do. He was a fox. If he wanted to do something then obviously foxes did do that thing. "You're only saying that because your cat hasn't left your sight. You don't have to hunt him down." He scowled at the cat, who didn't even glance away from the window he'd been staring out this entire time. He couldn't figure out why Kurama even wanted him. He was short, closer to Naruto's height than Kurama's. His black hair was odd, swept into a point like a flame or petal or something. If he was trying to use that hair to make himself look taller it wasn't working. He had white in his hair, too, like he was old or streaked it or something. His face wasn't bad, but his eyes were red and that was just creepy. Naruto had seen plenty of gorgeous cats mewling around Kurama, all of them tall and sleek and sexy as hell. So why had he picked this cat? With Sasuke, it was his scent that had pulled him in and set him on fire. He leaned forward and gave the strange cat a good sniff.

"Naruto," Kurama sighed. "Foxes do not sniff other people's mates. It's rude." To say the least.

"You're not mates yet," Naruto rightfully pointed out. He was getting better at finding loopholes in all the rules Kurama kept throwing at him. "He's only a...potential mate."

"It's still rude," said Kurama. Hiei might not care, but he certainly did. "Don't do it again."

Naruto slumped back in his seat. "Like I'd want to. He doesn't smell anything like Sasuke. Or any of the other cats who were there." He hadn't yet sorted out all of the smells that had assaulted his nose today. Most of the cats had smelled good, like ready sex, and a few had been nearly as exciting as Sasuke. There were others he hadn't liked, some that smelled bad, rotten almost, and even some that smelled more like dog than cat. But not a single one of them had smelled like Hiei. "He smells weird," he told Kurama. "I think you should get your nose checked."

Kurama reminded himself that Naruto was still young. Having learned little in the way of manners growing up, he had come a long way in the last few years. Hiei was calm, sitting comfortably just a few inches from his side. Hiei could care less what the fox kit thought of him. Kurama forced his annoyance away. There would be time enough later to teach Naruto to respect his new mate. "I didn't ask your opinion, Naruto, so kindly keep it to yourself." His eyes flicked to the strip of pale skin along the back of Hiei's neck, between his hair and that black form-concealing cloak of his. "I think Hiei smells wonderful." He smiled when the cat gave a soft snort, right on cue. Yes, Hiei was an odd cat. A sharp little onion. Kurama looked forward to unwrapping him one layer at a time. Starting with that cloak, of course.

.-.  
TBC


	2. Common Decency

Sasuke had arranged for the car to pick him up in the nearest open area. Although they were able to take the roofs most of the way, they were scented immediately. He had known they would be. Mother cats kept their kittens hidden away a full season if not two. Sakura's was less than a month old. By the time they were forced back to the ground there was a pack waiting for them. Sasuke had expected that as well. Maybe he should have warned Sakura. Honestly, he had assumed she would know what to expect from these dogs by now. At least she didn't hesitate to follow him to the ground.

He handed her the kitten as he dropped his bag and slipped his shoes off. "Walk to the car. I'll be there shortly."

Sakura clutched Kitty to her chest, her nostrils flaring against all the canine aggression in the air. She knew the scent of her fear was inciting them, but she couldn't do anything about that. Sasuke's tail was curling from side to side, inciting the dogs just as badly, only he was doing it on purpose. "Sasuke..."

A vibration started in his chest, strengthening into an audible purr. The nearest dogs jerked as if struck. Sasuke gave a dark smile. He had them now. They wouldn't even think to go after her until they had taken him down. They were dogs, after all, not hyenas. "We're leaving," he reminded Sakura. For the first time since meeting her he could fight without having to worry about a revenge pack hunting him down afterward.

Sakura pressed her lips into a thin line. She wanted to tell him to be careful, to be quick about it. She wanted to yell at him for looking like he was about to enjoy this. She especially wanted to inform him that purring before a fight was twisted and highly inappropriate. She kept her mouth shut and edged along the wall toward the makeshift alleyway that would lead her to where the car was supposed to be waiting. One of the dogs made as if to lunge at her and she jumped, squeezing Kitty so tightly she should have cried. Only the fact that Kitty didn't cry, because she wasn't strong enough to muster up the effort to cry, kept Sakura from giving in to her panic and bolting. She knew better than to run. She walked, slow and steady. She heard the fight start as she stepped under the tarp that formed the tunnel. A squeal of pain, a thud, snarls, and she flattened her ears to block the sounds out. Halfway through the tunnel two dogs stepped out of a doorway and blocked her escape. She stood frozen, listening to the growling snarls, for what seemed like an eternity before she realized she was making those sounds herself. She didn't make out their scents or their faces. All she saw was the squirming female no bigger than her, tied up and held like a bag of garbage under one of the dogs' arms. For a moment her outrage almost overcame her fear. If not for Kitty, she would gladly have wet her claws to free that poor girl. Given a choice of one or the other, she had to save her own.

If it hadn't been for Karin, Ichigo suspected he would finally have gotten to see what a dog looked like with his face scratched off. Karin slipped past Renji, put an arm out in front of him, and backed them back into the doorway they had just stepped out of. The rabid cat continued to snarl and chuff, making noises that had the hairs on his arms standing up, nevermind his tail. But she moved, slowly edging past them without attacking. He was staring at her puffed and lashing white tail when his brain registered what his nose had been telling him. Female, mother, and that little bundle in her arms was a kitten, also female. No mother cat brought her kitten in the open in this neighborhood. His mouth shot open, but Renji got there first.

"Take this," Renji growled, shoving his hogtied sister at Ichigo. "Those fucks are killing her mate."

Ichigo turned to pass Rukia on, and realized the stupidity of that the moment he saw Karin's raised eyebrow. Right. He set her on the ground instead. "Don't cut her loose," he warned.

"With what?" Karin scoffed, "My teeth?" She rolled her eyes when she found herself talking to air. Ichigo had already darted off to join Renji in what smelled like a bloody dogfight. She crouched down beside Rukia, squeezing her fingers into the tight leg of her right boot. The little knife was just as sharp as it had been the first time Rukia had shown it to her. It make quick work of the ropes. She sat on her heels while Rukia rubbed circulation back into her limbs.

"What a dumbass," Rukia spat, after taking the gag out. "If he was going to go through with it, he should have at least taken my boots first. He's such a softie, the big faker."

"Are you going to run away?" asked Karin.

"Of course not," she muttered. "We're going after that cat. Who knows what could happen to her out here." She knew exactly what could happen, but Karin didn't and she never wanted her to.

Karin grinned. "I thought you'd say that."

.-.

This was without a doubt the worst neighborhood Iruka had ever been in. Now he understood why the elderly gray tabby who had passed him the orders had passed him a revolver as well. He had never shot a gun in his life. Tonight might be the last time he could say that. He had barely parked the car on a dingy but thankfully open bit of street when the dogs began to crawl out of the shadows to eyeball him. The windows were up and his ears were down. They couldn't know for sure that he was a cat. They certainly made him feel like one, though. He resisted the urge to reach into his pocket and finger the gun. The engine was running. He could always put the car in reverse and run them over if necessary. That thought had barely settled in his mind when another car pulled in behind him. He gaped at the rearview mirror, then looked over his shoulder just to be sure. It was definitely another car, as conspicuously expensive as the one he was driving. A shaggy silver-haired wolf stepped out of the car and the dogs vanished back into the shadows. Iruka took the gun out of his pocket.

Kakashi watched with amusement as all of the curious dogs scurried away. He tended to have that effect on people. It was, in fact, an effect he had cultivated. He walked the length of the fancy car he had parked behind and rapped lightly on the driver's window. He stared down at the rather large gun in the cat's lap as he waited. It was a bad neighborhood when a cat couldn't rely on his claws alone. This cat had a nice set. He was awfully brown, though. Dark brown-black hair pulled into a tight tail, brown eyes, tan skin. Even his suit was a burnt brown. Kakashi had expected Kuchiki to dress his men a little better than that. The cat eventually rolled the window down a crack. He did not, however, put away the gun. Kakashi smiled behind the black cloth mask he wore over the lower half of his face.

"Are you here for the same thing I am?" asked Kakashi.

"I doubt it," Iruka said sharply. That sounded far too much like a pick-up line. Normally he would have laughed at the idea of a wolf hitting on him. In this neighborhood with his car blocked in he wasn't taking any chances. "I'm just running an errand."

"For Kuchiki Byakuya." Kakashi shook his head when the cat tensed. "You're driving one of his cars. It was an easy guess. Besides, I'm running an errand, too, for Youko Kurama. He mentioned having run across your boss earlier today." The cat looked confused, so he didn't mention where the two had crossed paths. Kuchiki probably hadn't recognized Kurama, anyway. "I'm here to pick up a cat. You?"

"Two dogs," Iruka admitted. Having glimpsed some of the dogs who lived around here he wasn't looking forward to being trapped in a car with two of them. He frowned up at the wolf, who didn't smell nearly as dangerous as he had thought he would. Iruka had never actually been this close to one before. Still, "I can't imagine any cat living around here would be eager to approach you. Do you know why you were chosen for this errand?" Iruka had been chosen simply because he had stepped in the garage door right as the tabby had entered looking for someone to send out.

Kakashi leaned against the side of the car, giving a slow look at the squalid buildings that were threatening to crumble right into the small clearing they had parked in. Bad neighborhood, indeed. "I was chosen just in case."

"In case of what?"

"Trouble," Kakashi smiled. "I'm a wolf, if you hadn't noticed."

Of course Iruka had noticed. He huffed under his breath and looked away. Then his eyes widened. He shoved the door open, forgetting all about the wolf, who stepped away just in time. He forgot about the gun, too, leaving it to clatter at the wolf's feet.

Sakura had frozen just inside the clearing. There were two cars, not one. And there was a man standing guard over them who smelled worse than any dog. Suddenly it was all too much. She couldn't catch her breath. If she passed out she'd drop Kitty. A brown cat rushed over to her and she held her arms out. "Sasuke's coming," she gasped. She forced the cat to take Kitty and then dropped to her knees, panting as if she'd been running for hours. "He'll be here soon…"

Iruka fumbled with the kitten for a second, then he crouched down to curl his free arm around the girl's waist. He got her on her feet and half carried her. "You need to get in my car." It was a wonder she wasn't dead, running around this dog infested neighborhood with a kitten.

"Sasuke's coming," she repeated.

"You can wait for him in the car," Iruka said quickly. The poor thing sounded like she was hyperventilating. The wolf stepped toward them and she stumbled, hitching out a broken growl. Iruka glared the man back with a growl of his own. It wasn't until he had given her the kitten back and shut the door on her that he remembered the gun. The wolf was holding his gun. He blinked. Actually, the wolf was holding his gun by the barrel and offering it to him. He accepted it warily.

"You can't take my cat," Kakashi informed him.

"What?" Iruka forgot all about the gun again. "You came for a female cat? A mother? Youko Kurama sent you for a mother cat?"

"Well, no," Kakashi frowned. That did sound rather unbelievable. "He sent me to pick up a male cat named Sasuke. If she's with him, then she's with me."

Iruka's tail bristled. "If you think that girl is going to get into a car with you, you're mad!" He wouldn't have gotten into a car with the wolf and he was far less vulnerable than a traumatized teenage mother with kitten in tow. "I won't allow it!"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "I don't recall asking your-"

A sharp voice cut in. "Hey! What do you think you're doing with her?"

Kakashi blinked as two black female dogs stalked over to growl at him. They barely reached his waist and one of them smelled as if she had been rolling in her own feces. He was quite glad for his mask. He raised an eyebrow at the cat, who was also wrinkling his nose. "Your dogs?"

"I'm here for two males," Iruka blurted. The stinky female swiped a shiny-toed foot at him and he jumped back, bumping into the car. "What are you doing?"

"Saving her," Rukia snapped. "Out of the way. That goes for you, too," she growled at the mask-wearing weirdo. If he was a fox then she owed Renji an apology. The hairs of his tail were strangely thick and the pointed tip wasn't the slightest bit rakish. "She's with us!"

"That's right!" Karin growled. "You can't have her!"

Kakashi noticed the white mother cat was staring out the window with her mouth an open circle of surprise. He sent a suspicious look at the brown cat. "Do you think it's a coincidence that we both came here for males, yet all we're getting are females?"

Iruka frowned at the two girls. "Are either of you related to Renji? Or Ichigo?"

"Oh!" Karin blinked. "Are you our ride? They're back there trying to save her mate from the dogpack."

Kakashi took that as his cue. "You watch the girls," he told the cat, "I'll go fetch our boys." For the mother cat's sake he hoped it wasn't already too late. For his own sake he hoped it was a case of mistaken identity. He was supposed to be here picking up the cat Naruto had chosen as his mate, not a pair of mated cats and their kitten.

It wasn't difficult to locate the fight. The metallic scent of blood bit right through his mask. Kakashi halted just under the overhang. A glance told him his help wasn't needed just yet. He relaxed in the shadows, content to watch. Kurama might like an accounting of this. The two dogs Kuchiki Byakuya's driver had come for were easy to pick out. They were the only ones on their feet not bearing claw marks. The redhaired one had a nasty bite on his left arm, but it featured the jagged tearing of dog teeth rather than the sharper cut of a cat. The blonde one appeared bruised but whole, and had a heavy punch that Naruto would have gotten a kick out of. The two dogs were on the edges of the fight, containing it by thrashing and warning off the curious mutts who kept edging out of the nearby buildings with an eye to get in on the action. Since the dogs were holding their own, Kakashi let his appreciation settle on the cat. Naruto had good taste. A bit more blood-thirsty than Kakashi would have liked for the young fox, but that was excusable given the circumstances. The cat used his teeth and claws for quick and lethal damage. He used both sets of claws, which was what Kakashi appreciated so much. Most cats these days would rather lose a fight than dirty their feet. This cat was blood-spotted and thriving on it. Kakashi would have to warn Kurama about that bloodlust before Naruto egged his new mate into a fight.

There was no question as to whether or not the cat was already mated. His scent was thick with dangerous temptation. Even the two dogs who had apparently jumped in to help were being affected by it. It was no wonder they were fighting as far from the cat as the confined space allowed. Kakashi wrinkled his nose behind his mask, firmly quelling the adrenaline that tried to surge through his system. He was too old to be challenging a little tomcat, especially one who was fighting to protect a mother and her kitten. He preferred his tail soft and willing these days. The thrill of the fight was rarely worth the aches and drama that so often followed.

For the first time in years, Renji regretted having made himself one of the big dogs in this town. He was able to warn his own mates from jumping into the fray. They didn't even know about the kitten. They merely saw dogs fighting a cat and wanted a piece. Some of the other familiar faces who showed up jumped in precisely because he was trying to warn them from it. This had gone from a simple rescue – the prerogative of a big dog to do the decent thing when he felt like it – to a territorial dispute. Bad enough to be fighting it out with his rivals when he was supposed to be leaving this lifestyle behind without dragging Ichigo into the mess. Not to mention the cat. He was trying his damnedest to forget about the cat. He was here to help the bastard, not to jump him. He had a slick tail already lined up for him as soon as this shit was finished. The cat could at least take his scent down a notch before he pulled in every dog in the area. Renji vented some of his frustration with a headbutt that had an added benefit of momentarily muting his sense of smell. Definitely an improvement. He dodged a fist and headbutted another one. Every little bit helped.

Ichigo cursed as another splash of blood caught the back of his neck. Cats were supposed to be fastidious neat-freaks. This one was messy as hell. Ichigo crumpled his opponent with a fist to the gut and kicked him into the side of the building across from him. The bastard should thank him for that. The last time he had tossed an opponent behind him the cat had swooped in and finished him off. Ichigo understood the rage, he really did. He had sisters. He could still remember the horror that had gripped him when he first realized Rukia was a cat. But some of these guys wouldn't have even sniffed at the mother cat, let alone her kitten. They were answering the challenge of a male cat fighting dogs in dog territory. Ichigo edged closer to Renji. Renji was nearly as bad as the cat with his famed 'street-cred' encouraging more dogs to jump into this mess.

"This isn't going to end," Ichigo growled, plowing his fist into the snarling face of another newcomer. What were they even fighting for at this point? "We have to stop that cat!"

"Go for it," Renji laughed. Between the adrenaline and the throbbing, his head felt light and swishy. He was starting to enjoy himself a little too much. "Rukia is bound to be loose by now. Doubt she took the ropes with her." Even the thought of having to hunt her down didn't take the half-mad grin off his face. Just the opposite. The thought of Ichigo trying to tie up the crazed cat fighting behind them made his smile wider than ever. "Best of luck to you."

Ichigo glanced back at the cat, only to lurch when another dog jumped in to take advantage of his distraction. He took an unpleasant blow to the head, staggered, and reeled around to smash the bastard's chin on his knee. He had shrugged off way too many ambushes by his insane father for some street dog to take him down. He shoved his opponent back and took a furious step toward the next one. Then he halted in his tracks. The dog had frozen, staring wide-eyed at something behind them. The cat? No. No dog was that afraid of a cat, not even a messily violent cat who went for the jugular more often than not. The would-be opponent backed away, slipping off into the shadows, as did the others who had been so eager to jump in. Ichigo exchanged a wary look with Renji, then they both whipped around. The cat was crouched over his latest kill, panting and blood-splattered. He was also motionless, staring at a tall black-clothed…fox? Ichigo's first thought was fox, but the tail was heavier, wilder, and the man definitely didn't look like a pansy. He sure as hell didn't smell like one. Ichigo sent another look at Renji and was both relieved and uneasy to see that battle-mad grin had finally vanished.

"Wolf," Renji said in answer to Ichigo's unspoken question. He stepped over a few bodies, approaching close enough to prove he wasn't afraid of him like those other mutts. He lifted his chin, glaring at the cool stranger. "What business does a wolf have around here?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, amused by that show of bravado. He noted that the red's friend wasn't nearly as confident, though he also appeared more suspicious than worried. "I believe your ride is here," he told them. "Though it has currently been usurped by a cat and her kitten. Friends of yours, I take it," he said to the cat. "If you're Sasuke, then I'm here to pick you up. As much as you might enjoy decimating the local dog population, Naruto is expecting us. He tends to whine when he's kept waiting. It isn't pleasant."

With a heavy breath, Sasuke rose and went to his discarded bag. He felt shaky and unsatisfied. He had wanted them all. Mostly for Sakura, but also for himself. For so long he had avoided all confrontations, knowing it would draw danger straight to her. This was his chance and he had wanted them all. Part of him even wanted the two dogs who had jumped in to help him because they had denied him some of his prey. It had taken all of his restraint to let them be. He didn't want it to be over. But Naruto was waiting. Sakura and the kitten had already waited long enough. He had promised to follow soon. He had no idea how long ago he had made that promise. There was no excuse for that, or for his assumption that she would be safe waiting for him at the car. Lucky that Naruto had thought to send a wolf. But that wolf was here and Sakura was not. He snatched up his bag and stowed his shoes in it. His feet were too filthy to bother putting them on. Sakura would throw a fit when she saw him. Assuming she was feeling secure enough to complain about his messiness.

Iruka let out a sigh of relief when the wolf returned and the curious dogs scattered again. He was feeling very much like a stranded cat in a dog town. He had what felt like a huge bruise on his shin, no gun, and no car keys. The filthy little female was responsible for all three. She and her accomplice had mugged him and left him standing like a fool locked outside of his own car. Well, technically the car belonged to the Kuchiki household, but he was the driver of it tonight. He sent a reproachful look through the tinted window at the happily chatting females. The cat at least should have had some sympathy for him. He had invited her to take shelter in his car without a moment's hesitation.

"They locked you out of your own car?" asked Kakashi. He nearly laughed. He couldn't remember ever having seen such a sheepish cat.

Sakura burst out of the car. She rushed to Sasuke, only to stop short at the sight of him. "Sasuke," she grimaced, "you're filthy! Is any of that yours? It had better not be."

"Did you win?" Karin asked Ichigo. She eyed him doubtfully. "You don't look like you won."

Rukia sidled up to Renji with a scary smile that immediately put him on edge. "Check what I got."

"Where the hell did you get a gun?" Renji demanded, half jealous and half scared shitless. He stiffened, paling when she bounced the large weapon carelessly in her hand. "Be careful with that! It might go off…"

"I know," Rukia smiled. "It's loaded. We checked."

"I helped her get it open," said Karin. She shrugged when Ichigo shot her a scowl. "He tied her up."

"That was for her own good," said Renji. He didn't think she'd shoot him. Then again, a day ago he hadn't thought she'd ever kick him in the balls with her steel toed boots, either. So far he was regretting his decision to officially make her a cat.

"You handed me off to Ichigo," Rukia glared at him. "Like a basketball."

"No, no," Karin sighed. "You hand off a football. Basketballs you throw or bounce to pass."

Rukia accepted the correction with grace. "Like a football. And he left me on the ground like garbage." She pointed over at Sakura, who was watching the exchange with a pursed frown. "Do you know she thought you were kidnapping me? And you were! You're lucky she had her kitten to worry about. She was all set to scratch your face off. Me, I'll settle for taking off your balls." She cocked the gun and took careful aim.

"Are you insane?" Ichigo yelled. He lunged for her just as she pulled the trigger. Renji gave a little jump at the click. Ichigo was amazed he didn't wet himself. He was fairly sure he would have. He snatched the gun away from Rukia and was tempted to whack her with it when she and his sister burst into laughter. "That wasn't funny," he growled. Even the white cat was smiling. He glared at all three. "That wasn't funny at all!"

Sasuke watched as Sakura handed two bullets and a set of keys to the brown cat who had been standing outside the car. She had made friends with dogs. True, they were female dogs and young ones at that. They were still dogs. She didn't complain when the rancid smelling girl reached out to pet the kitten. And she didn't cringe or flinch away from the two dogs who had followed him. Some of that was because the dogs had shown no interest in her and were, in fact, keeping a wary distance from her. He wondered what the rest of it was, whatever it was that had put her at ease. Simple relief, maybe. He watched and waited for the moment she realized they would be riding with the wolf and not the cat. He wasn't looking forward to it.

.-.

"You're so rude," Karin said, frowning over at Ichigo. "I'm sitting right next to her and it doesn't bother me."

"Good for you," Ichigo muttered from behind his sleeve. Rukia stank so badly his eyes were watering. She had always stunk, her way of masking her true scent. But he had never been enclosed in a car with her before. "Can you roll a window down?" he called to the driver. He huffed with relief when the cat rolled both of the back windows down.

"Wimp," Renji mocked. He had long since grown immune to Rukia's stench. He was rather proud of that, in fact. She had gotten so good at stinking that even those interested in female dogs hadn't sniffed near her.

"I suppose I'll have to wash out an outfit when we get there," Rukia sighed. She was going to feel naked with just her own scent. She had worked hard on her 'perfume', dabbling in everything gross she had come across over the years. It had been difficult finding a scent pungent enough to keep dogs from sniffing, but not so terrible that her own nose couldn't handle it. Her current scent featured a slimy brown substance she had found floating on a bucket of something foul. Renji had nearly thrown up when she had brought it home, the big wimp. After sitting out for a few days it had dried into a powdery dust, which she had rubbed all over her clothes. She thought it went rather well with the last few smells she had soaked her wardrobe in.

"Forget washing it," Renji waved. "You can wear one of my shirts tonight, same as always. There's no way anything of yours will come out clean. Be a shame to waste all that effort, anyway. Just bag it up and save it. Might come in handy some day."

Rukia gave him a dirty look. It was one thing to sleep in Renji's clothes when it was just the two of them. She didn't like the thought of doing it where some snooty cats would see and comment. She had lived as a dog way too long to be condescended to by a cat and not retaliate. "I'll borrow something of Karin's," she decided. "We probably won't be in the same room with either of you guys, anyway."

"I will be sharing a room with Rukia, won't I?" asked Karin.

"I'm not even sure if we'll be in the same house," Ichigo admitted. "It might be two houses in the same area or something."

"That's how I took it," said Renji. He leaned forward and eyeballed the back of the cat separated from them by a lowered partition. The cat had responded quickly to Ichigo's request for a window down, so he knew he had to be eavesdropping. "Hey, cat. You know anything about the living arrangements?"

Brown eyes flicked at them in the mirror. "My name is Iruka. I was only asked to pick the two of you up and bring you to the estate. The Kuchiki estate." He risked another glance and frowned at the dog's blank face. "It's an enclosed estate, consisting of the main house, guest house, guard house, and the garage." He wouldn't venture to guess which of those buildings would be used to house this lot. That they would be staying at all was curious. What was Kuchiki up to? He might as well wonder what Youko Kurama was up to.

"Which house does Ishida live in?" asked Ichigo.

"The main house." Of course. That he even had to ask made the situation even more bizarre. Iruka stowed his curiosity and pressed the button to close the back seats off. He would have done that from the start, but he had worried that the smell might snuff them all out in such an enclosed space. With the windows down that was no longer a worry. Iruka could still see them through the tinted partition. The red-haired dog looked especially angry. But he couldn't hear anything. That was for the best. If he were meant to know what was going on with them he would have been told. He couldn't afford to risk his position by sticking his curious nose in where it didn't belong.

"Fucking cats," Renji grumbled.

"We can look forward to a lot of that where we're going," Ichigo sighed. Even with the prospect of money, this felt more like a step down than a step up.

"He's probably still mad about earlier," said Karin. "He's pretty pathetic, getting taken down by a pair of girls half his size."

"He's a cat," Rukia scoffed. "What do you expect?"

"You're a cat now, too," Renji reminded her. He tensed, but she just gave him a contemptuous look and refrained from kicking. "Did you tell him you're a cat?"

"Of course not." The pathetic cat had thrown an outright hissy fit when Sakura had reluctantly gotten into the other car. All because she was a girl cat. As if the bloody tomcat at her side wasn't protection enough from a weird-smelling fox. Rukia might be resigned to living as a cat, but she'd be damned if she were going to be treated like one. "Forget about the cat," she said with a toss of her head. "When do you two get paid?"

"Paid for what?" asked Karin. Her eyes narrowed when Ichigo flushed a telling red. "Are you getting money from these cats?"

"You didn't know?" Rukia asked her in an innocently curious voice. "Not only are they getting paid money, they're getting paid for…" She hesitated, enjoying the panicked way Ichigo was shaking his head at her. Renji was too shameless to care who knew he was a glorified prostitute now. Ichigo, on the other hand, was still more puppy than dog. She had a bit of guilt for teasing him, but not enough to stop doing so. She sighed at Karin. "I'll tell you when you're older." She gave Ichigo a look that warned he owed her one. He would never know that 'when you're older' meant 'once they're asleep' and she planned to keep it that way. It was a girl thing.

.-.

Sasuke's arm was bleeding by the time they arrived. As expected, Sakura had latched onto him the moment she found out the wolf was their driver. Each time the man glanced in the rearview mirror to check the traffic behind him, she had dug her claws in a little deeper. After the way she had insisted on spreading one of their blankets over the seat so he wouldn't dirty it, he could have commented on her willingness to touch him. He didn't say a word. She wasn't complaining or crying, so he counted himself lucky. Sakura remained firmly attached to his arm as the wolf led them inside and handed them off to a plump female dog with graying hair and disapproving eyes. The first thing she did was try to take their bags. Sasuke didn't blame Sakura for growling. He was tempted to do the same.

"We'll carry them," said Sasuke. "Has Naruto arranged a place for me?" They had come in by what he suspected was a back hall. He could smell a kitchen nearby, which would be his first order of business once Sakura had been detached from his arm.

"Yes. I'm sure you would like to," and she hesitated, her nose wrinkling, "freshen up a bit. Your quarters are ready. If you'll follow me, I'll see you situated before making arrangements for your…friend."

Sasuke clenched his teeth when Sakura dug quite a bit deeper. For someone who disliked using her claws she certainly kept them sharp. His scowl bounced right off her pinched and irritated face. He was prepared to explain her presence to Naruto. He refused to explain it to one of Naruto's servants. They passed a number of other servants as they followed the woman up a flight of stairs and down a series of halls. The servants were mostly female, all dressed in matching gray-blue uniforms. The cats looked curiously and sympathetically at Sakura before gaping at him and hurrying away. Maybe he should have put his shoes back on before getting into the car. Although his feet were dry now, he was probably leaving flecks of blood and dirt in his wake. He hadn't considered the people who would have to clean up after him.

The old dog opened a door and stepped back with a painfully polite smile. "I will send a tray up directly. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to call." Then she turned to Sakura and gave a more genuine, if wincing, smile. "We have separate quarters for the cats who work here. Nothing for children as of yet, but I'm sure we can find something to suit you for the night. Come now, and I'll see you settled in."

"She stays with me," Sasuke said flatly. He entered the room and caught the woman's look of horror when he shut the door. He barely even winced when Sakura finally wrenched her claws loose. "Don't start."

"You liar," Sakura hissed. "You promised to tell them Kitty isn't yours. She thinks I'm your-"

"Victim?" Sasuke scoffed. "I wonder how many they have hidden away in those separate quarters. You'll never work as a maid again. I'm certainly not letting you be housed with them."

"You could have told her something. You could have said I was your sister. Your adopted sister," she scowled, when he gave her white tail a pointed look. "You could have at least said something."

"I didn't hear you saying anything." He dropped his bag on the floor and prowled around the room. It could have been the livingroom of a full sized house. There were doors on either end, one leading to a bedroom, the other to a bath. Sakura followed him into the bedroom.

"I wasn't even invited here," she complained. "What was I supposed to say to her?"

"There are no locks on these doors," Sasuke scowled. He stalked back across the main room. The bathroom didn't have a lock, either.

Sakura growled under her breath. "Will you stop prowling for a minute and look at me?" She didn't appreciate his exaggerated sigh. "You handled that badly, Sasuke. Servants have the power to make a guest's life miserable and she's obviously a head servant around here. I'm not just talking about dirty looks, either. They control the food. They could poison us if they had a mind to."

Rather than address that ridiculous fear, he walked to her and took the kitten and her bag. "You're going to be fine here, Sakura. Accept it." She followed him into the bedroom, watching as he took a drawer from the dresser and made it into a temporary crib. "That old dog was upset with me, not you. If anything, she'll probably be nicer to you now." He started to lay the kitten down, then abruptly stood and handed her back to Sakura. "She needs changed."

Sakura scoffed at how quickly he hightailed it to the other room. "A lot of help you are." He was right, though. Her Kitty was rank. "You still smell worse than she does," she informed him on her way to the bathroom. "I can't believe you took your shoes off. Your feet are disgusting."

Looking down at the faint prints he had left on the tan carpet, he had to concede her point. She would insist on cleaning it up herself, and would complain the entire time she was doing it. Meanwhile he would get no sympathy if he were to complain about the broken claws on his left foot. He had kicked too high and nearly lost a few toes to a mutt's teeth. She would insist it was no more than he deserved for being such a heathen as to fight with his shoes off.

A knock at the door announced the arrival of dinner. The tray was borne by a shaggy brown dog in a stiff silver uniform. He looked so awkward and uncomfortable Sasuke suspected the old woman had forced him to replace the girl who usually did such tasks. He was so amused by how quickly she had reacted to his supposedly nefarious treatment of Sakura that he didn't mind the way the dog's nostrils flared at the scent of him. He was fairly covered in dog blood, after all.

Sakura was burping a well stuffed Kitty when there was a hard knock on the door and a grinning blonde boy rushed in. They both froze, staring at each other with alarm on her part and confusion on his. The frozen tableau was broken by a wet burp and a rusty purr. Sakura blinked burning and slightly resentful eyes. Kitty hadn't purred in days and now she was too nervous to enjoy it. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Sasuke was standing in the bathroom doorway, dripping wet and wearing a little white towel around his waist. She promptly forgot all about the fox. She sprang from the couch with an affronted gasp. "Have a little decency, Sasuke! Neither of us needs to see that!" With Kitty's eyes properly shielded, she hurried to the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Sasuke flushed irritably. He had helped her wash the blood from between her legs. He had buried her afterbirth. And she still threw an unholy fit at a flash of his skin. He would never understand females. "Shut the door," he said to Naruto, who appeared to be choking on all of the things trying to get out of his mouth at once.

"What happened to you?" Naruto blurted. "Who is she? Was that a baby? Are you bleeding? Why do you smell like dog?"

Sasuke went over and closed the door himself, leaving wet footprints for Sakura to complain about later. "Dogfight. Sakura. Yes, but I'm not the father. Just a little. Dogfight." He waved the gaping fox at the couch as he padded back toward the bathroom. "Sit down while I get dressed. I'll explain in a minute."

"You don't have to get dressed on my account," Naruto said quickly. He had no idea what was going on, but Sasuke's semi-nudity he had no problem with at all.

Sasuke smirked at the fox's open appreciation. "I'll explain in a minute," he repeated firmly. There would be time enough later to parade nude around his new mate. Preferably when there wasn't an insulted cat and her kitten in the next room.

.-.

Byakuya's anger was scorching. It was an emotion he rarely let himself entertain and now was no exception. His lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes flashed, but he didn't speak until he was able to do so in a controlled voice. That took longer than it should have. The problem was that he had no one in particular to be angry with. Masquerading a cat as a dog was a practical maneuver. That the cat in question had to be mutilated, possibly permanently, in order to achieve the desired result was a shame. Yet he completely understood why that was better than the alternative. Having seen what the male cats in Renji's area were reduced to, he could only imagine how the females lived. No, it wasn't the deception itself that angered him. It was the fact that he had been taken in by it. One hint of her noxious odor and he had refused to come any closer. He had been fully prepared to tear into the despicable dog for bringing such a creature into his home. Poverty was no excuse for allowing any living thing to smell as bad as that. Then she had moved her tail, just one edgy slightly hostile flick of the tip of her fox-like tail and he had realized his mistake. A canine's tail wasn't flexible enough for that sort of motion. In retrospect he should have guessed from her ears alone. No dog with a tail like hers had such bent ears.

It only took a moment for Renji to recover. He hadn't been afraid or anything. If his new mate had tried to sharpen his claws on his face, he would have just flipped him over and ravaged him a little. If he had been worried at all it was only because Rukia, and especially Karin, were too young to be seeing that sort of thing. Not to mention how hard and cold the floor looked. Wouldn't be right to bruise up his mate's knees that badly their first time out. Confidence in place once more, Renji strode up to the stiff cat as if he hadn't frozen in his tracks the same as the others.

"The stinky one is my sister," he said, with a wryly apologetic smile. "Adopted. I know she looks like a dog and smells like a sewer, but actually-"

"There is no need to explain the deception," Byakuya interrupted coolly. He felt no compulsion to admit he had momentarily been fooled. "I trust the scent is removable."

"Nothing a quick bath and change of clothes won't fix."

"Good." Byakuya's eyes flicked distastefully over the dog's bloody and rumpled form. "See that you do the same before we meet again."

Renji gaped when the cat turned and swept away with a haughty flick of his tail. He was tempted to chase after him. He was pretty sure he had every right to chase after him. They were mates and all, or at least they were about to be. Wasn't right for a cat to get away with treating his mate that way. Still, Renji hesitated long enough to scowl back at Ichigo. "Do we stink?"

Ichigo looked down at his dirty blood-splattered clothes. "Probably," he admitted. He couldn't actually smell himself over Rukia. He was suddenly glad Ishida wasn't the one who had spotted them coming in the front door.

"I can't smell anything but Rukia," Karin said blandly. "I can't even tell we're in a cat's house."

"I can," Rukia said, wrinkling her nose. "It reeks of oranges and flowers. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Oh, shut up," Renji snapped. "If we stink, it's mostly your fault. If you hadn't made such a fuss about coming we'd of had time to rinse you out some clothes."

Rukia put her hands on her hips, growling back at him. "You'd still smell like a bloody dogfight. I had nothing to do with that. Your forehead looks like a smashed tomato, by the way."

"What?" Renji slapped his hands over his tender and slightly sticky forehead. It felt flat enough. "It ain't swollen at all."

"No, but it's mushy and red," Karin frowned. "What did you do to it?"

"Headbutts," Rukia told her, rolling her eyes. "It's a guy thing."

"It looks nasty," said Karin.

"Doesn't it?"

Ichigo ran a cautious hand over his own face. He had only butted one head, but he had taken a few hits to the jaw. Nothing felt swollen, certainly not squishy. Except the back of his hair. There was definitely a squishy sticky mess back there. Some of it might even be his own. A bath and change of clothes didn't sound like such a bad idea. He looked around the wide open entrance hall, ignoring Renji, who was still arguing with the girls about his mushy red forehead. There was a little white cat standing at the foot of the left staircase, watching them with condescending amusement. Ichigo scowled. He hadn't expected a welcoming party, but they could at least be told where to go in this place. He stalked across the hall, determined to intimidate some directions out of the kid. He was within a few feet of the kid when he realized he wasn't a kid, not really. He was short, but his scent proclaimed him anything but a kid. Ichigo gave a silent but heartfelt groan. The last thing he wanted to deal with was another antagonistic bit of tail eager for a fight.

"Which one are you?" the little cat asked, with a small smirk.

"Ichigo," he sighed. He should have brought Rukia with him. Her stench could overpower anything. Not that he was at all tempted. The scent was more irritating than anything. He wondered if maybe that fight had ruined him on openly confrontational cats. He wouldn't mind if it had. He was here to mate with a skittish prude, after all.

"Hitsugaya," the cat introduced himself. His amused gaze went back to the bickering trio. "Are either of the girls with you?"

"One of them," Ichigo admitted. "But they're hoping to room together."

"Matsumoto can have them, then. Follow me. Ishida's wing is on this side."

Ichigo looked back at Karin and received a distracted wave for his efforts. He followed the little cat up the stairs. He was grateful when the cat's scent tapered off some. The cat was a looker with his pale blue eyes, fluffy white hair, and surprisingly long-furred tail, but Ichigo couldn't have cared less. No matter what his nose said, the kid still looked like a kid.

"Most of the servants are off for the night," said Hitsugaya. "Kuchiki suspected you wouldn't look too good when you arrived. The fewer who see you looking like this, the better." His nose wrinkled when Ichigo stepped up to walk beside him. "Did you lose a fight with a skunk?"

"No," Ichigo muttered. He considered explaining that they had been protecting a mother cat and her kitten from a pack of dogs, but he didn't want to be accused of making the story up. It was a little too convenient.

The cat gave him a probing look, but didn't ask any more. He jerked his head at a set of double doors as they walked past. "That's Ishida's office. He'll be in there most of the night if you want to visit after you clean up. Otherwise he'll see you at breakfast. If you get hungry before then, you'll have to find the kitchen on your own and help yourself. The staff won't be back on till sunrise. This is your suite," he said, stopping at the end of the hall. "There should be enough room for the girls if they don't like it in Kuchiki's wing. The guest rooms are available, too, if you want them out of the way. Those open onto the gardens. There aren't any attendants around the lake, so keep them out of it if they can't swim." He folded his arms over his chest and gave Ichigo another of those smug smiles. "I'd wish you luck, but I really don't see the point. You have my sympathies."

Ichigo scowled as the arrogant brat swept away with a tail flick nearly as annoying as Byakuya's. Cats. He was seriously going to be living in a house full of cats. And so far Ishida was the most tolerable one he'd met. That did not bode well.

.-.

Kurama might have known Hiei would be comfortable wielding a sword. His confidence was too casually ingrained not to be justified. The cat had vanished upon arrival at the house. Kurama wasn't surprised by how quickly Hiei had found the weapons he had hidden away the day Naruto had moved into his home. He did wonder, though, what Hiei meant by coming into his room thus armed. He set aside his brush and turned to face him directly. "What do you intend to do with that?"

"Ask for it," said Hiei. He closed the door and leaned against it. The fox was sitting in the dark. The moonlight through the open window made his hair shimmer.

"I have better blades." He took great pride in his collections. Curious, that Hiei had chosen such a plain piece.

"You have more expensive blades," Hiei corrected him. Bejeweled and gilded and largely ornamental. "I want this one."

"Then it's yours. Most of the flashier pieces are entailed. I didn't choose those myself." He watched as Hiei slipped the strap of the hilt over the doorknob so the blade hung at his side. Casually blocking the usual exit. Kurama wondered if he should feel as if he were being seduced in his own bedroom. "Did anything else catch your eyes?" Hiei's eyes were red glints in the dark room. "You must have noticed I'm rather fond of rubies."

"I prefer the silver," said Hiei. That pale tail swished coyly along the back of the chair Kurama was perched on, catching the light as clearly as his hair. His gaze lifted to that fine fall of hair, so different from the soft looking red. Kurama's pale eyes were more narrow, but they glinted with amusement. Hiei's lips pulled into a half smile. "And the gold," he acknowledged.

"You sound like a thief," Kurama smiled knowingly. "Most find my...riches...to be intimidating." He wanted to rise and approach him and see just how unintimidated he really was. But Hiei had come to him, so he would do his part and be patient. For now.

Hiei had never been one for games. He preferred to do things in the most quick and efficient way. The sooner begun, the sooner done, as a scruffy old dog had once advised him. Had the fox moved on him, he would have done his part to speed things along and be finished with it. But he had agreed to an association that would last weeks, months, possibly longer. And Kurama was waiting, leaving it to him to make the moves. That made him uneasy. He couldn't play the fox's game without understanding the rules. Abandoning his place by the door, he crossed the room to lean against the dressing table instead. With the fox still seated their eyes were nearly level. Those pale golden eyes watched him like a cat with a string. Fitting, since Hiei had never considered himself much of a cat.

"Why the red?" Hiei asked, when Kurama made no move to touch him.

"It makes me more approachable," Kurama admitted. "Had I gone in there like this, the dogs would have revolted. I'm often mistaken for a wolf."

"The cats would have wanted you more." He knew all too well how cats mewled after foxes. It wasn't just the dog mingling halls he had haunted over the last few years.

"Do you?" Kurama watched him closely. He was more comfortable dancing than being as blunt as that. But Hiei had ended their dance with his approach.

"I don't respond to scent."

"I noticed that," Kurama said, with a self-depreciating smile. "It's part of your allure."

Hiei snorted, the quiet huff being the closest he ever got to a laugh. "You wanted me because I didn't want you. Or so you thought." His eyes went back to that waterfall of moonlight. "I prefer the silver, but I didn't mind the red."

"I would never have guessed. You mask your scent well." It hadn't been until the car ride that Kurama had been sure of what he was smelling. He wanted to ask about that, just to confirm his suspicions. But not tonight. Kurama watched Hiei watching him. They were set on dancing again, each waiting for the other to take the lead. As a full-blooded fox, Kurama knew that honor fell to him. He tilted his head with an innocent expression that would have fit much better had his hair been red and his eyes green. "Did you find your room? It's just down the hall from here."

Hiei scoffed and pushed away from the vanity. "I don't need a room, just a window sill. Yours will do as well as any." He laid claim to the open window, leaving his tail to curl inside of it. Looking out over the moonlit yard below, he listened closely to the fox behind him. "Let me know if the air bothers you."

Kurama rose and joined him at the window. His estate did look lovely in the moonlight. So did Hiei. "I might get chilly in the night. Will you warm me if I do?"

"Of course."

Willing, but not especially eager. Kurama bent down to bury his nose in Hiei's thick hair. He felt Hiei's calmly curling tail brush against his leg as he breathed him in. Reserved, calm, with just a tiny hint of restless impatience. Kurama realized he was going to woo him, precisely because he didn't need to. He just hoped he didn't enjoy it too much. "You really do smell wonderful, you know."

Hiei snorted. "Maybe you really should get your nose checked."

.-.

"It's not that squishy," Renji grumbled to himself as he examined his forehead in the mirror. It would be red for a day or so but it wouldn't swell up or bruise. He did have to admit that it looked bad, though. Obvious and eye-catching. Really took away from his eyebrows. He sniffed at the thought. He'd just have to let his hair down. The cat had a thing for his hair, he was sure of it.

"Aren't you done yet?" Rukia hollered through the door.

"No!" If he were done, he'd be out. Obviously. He should have let the cat room the girls in that other wing like she had offered. He hadn't thought about having to share the bathroom with them. It was the way the cat had eyed Rukia that had made him refuse. He'd been afraid she might snatch her up and smother her in her enormous cleavage, stinky scent be damned. He had never seen such big breasts on a cat before. He was surprised to find that he liked them. It was a shame her scent hadn't done anything for him. It might be fun to hook up with a female cat after he finished up here. Some of his mates claimed to like it both ways. He had always wondered if he were missing out with his attraction for male tail. But that was something to consider later. Tonight he definitely had male tail on the brain.

"I'm going to kick this door down," Rukia warned him in a far too serious voice.

"Will you buzz off, already? I'm primping here."

"Why bother? You'll still have a bulls-eye on your forehead. Anyway, if you don't hurry up the whole room is going to smell like me."

Renji wrenched the door open and stared in horror at her clothes. "You were supposed to take those off and bag them up!"

"I would have if there were any locks on the doors. There aren't." She slipped past him and shut the door in his face. "But there's a lock on this door. How convenient."

"Hey!" Renji yelped. "I wasn't done in there! Damn it…"

"That bite looks nasty," Karin commented from the couch. "You should have Ichigo stitch it up for you."

"Like I'd let him stick a needle in me," Renji muttered. He dug a roll of bandages from his bag, standard supplies for a street dog, and wrapped up his arm.

"Don't complain when it gets infected," Karin shrugged, her eyes back on the television. The screen was as wide as she was tall. She still couldn't quite accept that. The shows were another matter entirely. "If it gets infected you'll have to cut it back open, drain it, and sew it up right."

"What?" Renji grinned, "You been watching your dad work?"

"He does good work. He's just too stupid to work for people who can actually pay him."

"Yeah, he's a good guy." And a stupid one, just as she'd said. If Renji had an actual skill like that, he'd never have stayed in their town. Ichigo's dad had, and there were a lot of people grateful that he had. Too bad gratitude couldn't pay the bills. He eyed the girl sadly and then glanced past her. His mouth dropped open. "What the hell are you watching?"

"Sex," Karin frowned. "I think. Rukia thought it might be a sport, but I'm pretty sure it's sex. There aren't any balls, not the kind you play with."

"Fucking hell," Renji cringed. He slapped a hand over her eyes and scrambled to snatch the remote away from her. The volume roared and he didn't have any free hands to protect her ears from the slapping sounds. "How do you turn this damned thing off?!"

"It's the red button," Karin sighed. "You don't have to turn it off, though. My dad gave me the talk last year. I'm old enough to see sex."

"You are not! And that wasn't sex!" The television went blank. He slumped against the back of the couch with a pained whine. Ichigo was going to mutilate him for this.

Karin looked back at him skeptically. "If that wasn't sex, what was it?"

"Wrestling," Renji said firmly. "Fox wrestling."

"Then why were they naked?"

"It's a fox thing," he said weakly. "Yeah, crazy foxes, you know? All the guy foxes do that. Like a rite of passage. Yeah."

"Hm," Karin frowned, her eyes going from the blank screen back to him. She thought for a minute and then raised an eyebrow at him. "Do all foxes have such big penises?"

Renji whimpered.

.-.  
TBC


	3. Awkward at best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: NaruSasu smut, humor, IchiIshi fluff

A light thump on the doors of his office warned Ishida that his new mate had arrived. He tensed, glaring at the doors, but Hitsugaya didn't pop in to irritate him with any more sly comments. Ishida had heard more than enough of them earlier. Since Hitsugaya could very well wind up in a similar situation in a few years, Ishida didn't begrudge his need to heckle him. That didn't mean he had the patience to tolerate it. He wasn't used to being the butt of jokes or the focus of teasing. Between Hitsugaya and Matsumoto he had received his fill of both. All they had accomplished was to make him more determined than ever to do things his way. He had secured a mate. Now all he had to do was mate with him and everyone would leave him alone. The prospect of children was terrifying, but once they were born he would be able to go home. Not to the apartment his father had rented for him, of course. He would get his own place and do whatever he wanted with it. He might even hire a guard to ensure that none of his supposed peers so much as knocked on his door.

Despite having been in Byakuya's house for a year, he still had difficulty accepting his change in status. That he had a status at all was infuriating. He had thought himself poor. The poverty he had glimpsed today told him how wrong he had been. But growing up he had known he was poor in comparison to his classmates. While the other cats had been dreading or eagerly anticipating their first heat and the prospect of mating, he had been focused on his lessons, determined to work fewer hours than his father for twice the pay. Where they had been obsessed with dogs and foxes and pretty cats he had been watching for grocery sales that would let him put a little aside for new shoes. His first heat had caught him by complete surprise. One day he had been sitting in class with what felt like an itchy fever. The next morning he was here, the heir of a fortune. A fortune his father had never touched or even hinted at. That was sick. He had always known there was something wrong with the man, but he had never even suspected he was that twisted.

Now he was one of the rich cats required to do nothing but live off the interest of his inheritance, a good portion of which was entailed and would pass untouched to his heirs. He would never fit in with Byakuya's sect, and he refused to disdain the money and live as his father had. What he sought was a comfortable middle ground. A small place where he could be as invisible as he pleased without any children of his ever feeling deprived. A simple enough goal. With his new mate he wouldn't have to worry about a restrictive marriage to someone from the upper class. Once the children were born Ichigo would take his pay and be on his way. The dog did want visitation rights with the children, but Ishida wouldn't have denied him that, anyway. He was already feeling sorry for the heir and spare Byakuya was planning to have, for never knowing who their sire had been. Toushiro, or Hitsugaya as he insisted on being called, was a prime example of what happened when a rich cat bred with a temporary and thus disposable mate. No son of his was going to turn out that like haughty brat.

Ishida shifted in his chair, shooting a quick look at the clock. The thump on his door proved Hitsugaya had passed his message along. Was the dog having second thoughts? It was too late for that. He had gone into that horrible place and come out with an agreement. He refused to go back and try again, especially now that Byakuya had settled on a mate. He would have to walk in there alone. Impossible, of course. Ichigo was just going to have to uphold his part of their deal and that was all there was to it. He shouldn't have come to the house if he were going to change his mind. They were stuck with each other now. He straightened his glasses and shut his books. He took a moment to tidy his desk, then he left the office determined to confront his new mate.

Most of his determination lagged just outside Ichigo's door. The dog's door was right across the hall from his own. The temptation to duck into his room before Ichigo could answer his knock was almost too strong to resist. He had to mate in order to get children and the life he wanted. His body had proven quite often in the last year that he was ready to mate. But his brain would rather save the mating for tomorrow night. Or next week. A few months wouldn't be entirely unreasonable. He suddenly wished he had paid more attention to Matsumoto's teasing attempts to be helpful. He distinctly recalled a mention of biting. He didn't want to be bitten by a dog. He didn't want to be bitten by anyone. He loathed unprovoked violence. His ears flattened against his hair as he watched his hand rise and knock again. He would simply explain to Ichigo that there would be no biting of any kind. He was the one paying him, after all. The rules were his to set.

The door was wrenched open and Ishida swore he actually saw his determination puff up, turn tail, and bolt. Ichigo was too close. Why hadn't he taken a polite step back after knocking? Ichigo was far too naked and muscular. Had he really been so focused on his tail that he hadn't even noticed his body? Worst of all, Ichigo was much too...canine. His scent was a humid slap of irritation and impatience, with an underlying taint of violence. He was staring at an angry wet dog fresh from a fight. Ishida lifted his chin, bit out a sharp, "Excuse me," and bolted.

Ichigo caught him up against the door across the hall. There was no thought involved in it. When cats ran, dogs chased. From the sharp knocks he had thought it was Renji, possibly even Karin and Rukia deciding they didn't want to spend the night with Renji. He had been frustrated at having his shower interrupted, and dragging pants on when he was wet was a pain in the ass. He had stalked to the door eager to vent with some good snarling. The last person he had expected was Ishida. And of course the skittish cat had to go and run.

Heaving a long sigh, Ichigo thumped his forehead lightly against the back of Ishida's head and stared down at the fluffed up tail twitching against his ankles. "Don't you know you don't run from dogs?"

Ishida felt his face burn with embarrassment. Of course he knew better. One of the first things he had learned as a kitten was to never run from a dog. At the very least, running would result in a painful mauling. But he had grown up in cat territory, gone to an all cat school and almost all of the canines he had met in the past year had been conceited foxes. Staring them down from across a room was nothing compared to being face to face with an angry half-dressed dog he was supposed to mate with. He looked down at the arms wrapped around him and wondered if he shouldn't be glad the dog was so fast. If he had gotten his door open they would probably be on the floor right now. He didn't want to be mauled on the floor. Ichigo hadn't even smashed him up against his door. He was just being held, restrained, like a flighty cat who didn't know his own mind. Because he was acting like one.

Ichigo loosened his grip when Ishida twisted around to face him. The cat had the nerve to glare at him as if he was the one who had done something wrong. He scowled back. Ishida was the one who had run like an idiot. He had a strong urge to take him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. But then the cat would just bolt again, he'd chase him again, and, yeah, that wouldn't help matters any.

"You will not maul me in the hallway," Ishida stated.

"What?" Ichigo gaped at the cat. Mauling? He hadn't even pressed up against him. "If you think that was mauling, you don't know anything about dogs."

"I don't," Ishida said frankly. He adjusted his glasses and stepped back out of those restraining arms. "You may educate me about dogs in the privacy of my bedroom. Never in the hallway." Ichigo was still gaping at him. He sighed. "I'm sorry for running. I won't do it again." Not intentionally, anyway. His gaze flicked down just long enough to reaffirm that the dog was half dressed and damp. "I also apologize if I interrupted you while you were bathing. I thought maybe you were having second thoughts."

"Me?" Ichigo blurted.

"Who else?" Ishida huffed. It was difficult not to condescend to the dog when he insisted on making such a gobsmacked face. "Now are you going to come into my room or not?"

Ichigo was tempted to say no, just because the cat obviously expected him to say yes. But Ishida was being blunt again, and he really did prefer that over the skittishness. They had been honest with each other so far. No point lying now. "I'm coming in," he sighed. "My hair is still wet, though."

Ishida smirked as he turned to open his door. "It's a myth that cats loathe water. We may not swim as a rule, but we're very fond of bathing."

That smirk did bad things to Ichigo's stomach. It almost made him feel nervous. Ishida had a playful side? Not likely. Ishida was flirting with him? No way in hell this skittish cat knew how to act coy. It was probably just a comment on the fact that Ichigo bathed often where a lot of dogs never bothered. A back-handed compliment, then. His stomach settled down. Then he followed Ishida into his room and felt his stomach get all riled up again. The main room was surprisingly similar to the one he had been given, only the lack of a television standing out. The room was no more extravagant or expansive than his own. But the room reeked of Ishida, and that was what had his stomach tying itself into a quivering knot. He could barely make out the faint hint of orange beneath the heavy scent of cat. His cat. It was still hard to believe he had a cat now.

Ishida closed his door with a sense of finality and turned to take a good look at his new mate. He had never seen a dog with his shirt off before. Truth be told, he had never seen any adult with his shirt off before. Ichigo had broad shoulders, visible muscles, and a hairless chest with hard little nipples a few shades darker than the rest of his skin. Flushing, Ishida tore his eyes away and hurried past him. "I'll fetch a towel for your hair." Of course the dog's nipples were hard when he was damp and half-dressed. Ishida kept his room cooler than the rest of the house, which couldn't be helping. He should have let him go back to his room, dry off properly, and dress before inviting him in. It wasn't right to make his new mate uncomfortable just to prove to himself that he wasn't flighty.

"Thanks," Ichigo said, when the cat returned with a fluffy white towel. He didn't know what to make of the way Ishida was looking at him. There was nothing the least bit skittish about that direct and curious gaze. He actually felt himself flushing awkwardly when he brought this tail around to rub it dry. At least that ended the staring, and the silence.

"What exactly does the brush and rub consist of?" asked Ishida.

"Eh?" Ichigo's hands froze and his tail nearly twitched out of the towel he had wrapped around it. Ishida had posed the question as casually as if asking him the time. As if his sharp eyes weren't darting over to avidly watch him rub his own tail. Was the cat mocking him? "Brushing and rubbing," Ichigo muttered. "What else?"

"There must be more to it than that," Ishida snapped. He had been rubbing his tail dry for years and had never considered it anything beyond a necessary part of grooming. Ichigo didn't appear to enjoy having his fur rubbed backwards any more than he did. Not that Ishida had taken more than a discrete glance at his too-tight pants. He really should have let him dry off and change before inviting him in. He was starting to feel like a pervert.

"Sometimes there's stroking," Ichigo said warily. He could feel his face heating up, and how was that right? He wasn't the prude here. "Didn't you look around at all earlier?" Ishida looked away with a pursed frown, and Ichigo realized that he probably hadn't. He recalled his embarrassing first time in that room, how painfully uncomfortable he had been with the spectacle of it all. Eventually one of the cats had noticed him. It had only taken one brush of tail and he had followed him into that heated mass like a lovesick puppy. "I guess it is pretty awful the first time you see it. Was that your first time in a mingling hall?"

"Yes, and I'm glad it will be my last." Ishida took the towel back to the bathroom, relieved to quit the room for a moment. He had looked at that heated press of bodies, but he hadn't seen anything appealing about it. Filthy cats and dogs pressing and rubbing, tails all over each other as if it didn't matter who or what they touched so long as they were touching something. The lust and desperation had been as disturbing as the public intimacy. Even if he had been free to slink along the walls he wouldn't have wanted any dog who might have approached him from the midst of that...orgy. But that was what Ichigo was used to. It was no wonder Ichigo looked so uncomfortable. The dog was used to bold cats rubbing all over him.

Ichigo looked at him warily when he returned. Ishida frowned back at him. That long tail was nearly rigid, not a hint of the soothing sway that had captured his attention earlier. His own tail clung to his leg at the thought of having to make the first move. If he tried being bold and Ichigo's tail jerked away from him, he would never approach him again. His pride wouldn't stand for that sort of rejection. He would just have to put the nervous dog at ease and hope his scent and the dog's instincts did the rest. "Would you like a drink? I have alcohol."

"You drink?" asked Ichigo. He couldn't hide his surprise. Ishida smiled, and Ichigo didn't think he did a good job hiding his reaction to that, either. Ishida's smiles were dangerous.

"I have never drank in my life," Ishida admitted. "Byakuya saw to it that my room was stocked, just in case." He waved Ichigo to have a seat on the couch with the most gentle and coaxing smile he could manage. "Alcohol lowers inhibitions, you know..."

Ichigo fervently hoped it lowered them enough to pry the cat's nervous tail away from that leg of his because if Ishida kept smiling at him he was going to jump him. He had never been the sort to corner a frightened cat, but there was only so much he could take. If Ishida wanted to get drunk in order to feel more comfortable with him, so be it. "Great idea. We can have a few drinks while we get used to each other."

"Exactly," Ishida beamed. His smile nearly cracked when the dog stumbled and then quickly sat with his eyes downcast and his tail stiffer than ever. "I'll bring a couple of bottles." He just hoped he had enough to calm the poor dog down.

.-.

"Nothing like that would ever happen here," Naruto said furiously. "We'd cut the balls off anyone who even thought of it. Foxes don't stand for that shit." That was one of Kurama's fox rules that Naruto completely agreed with. "If anyone so much as looks at her funny you have permission to cut him up."

"I would anyway," Sasuke admitted.

"Yeah," Naruto grinned, eyeing those sharp claws of his. "I figured you would. How many dogs were you fighting earlier?"

"I didn't stop to count." Not nearly enough to satisfy his sense of vengeance. He shifted further back on Naruto's couch so he could fold his legs. He didn't miss the way Naruto's attention snapped from his crotch to his tail. The fox was nothing if not direct. He liked that. But, as usual, Sakura and the kitten had priority. "I won't have her housed with the servants. She may be safe here, but it will take time before she feels that way."

"I get that," Naruto said quickly. He liked that. Sasuke was wild, but he was also loyal, protective of his own. "My only problem with her being in your room is that I won't be able to visit you there." He frowned suddenly. "And there's only one bed." He didn't want his mate sleeping with someone else even if it was a mother cat he viewed as a sister.

"I'll be on the couch," Sasuke scoffed. "She's very...female...when it comes to things like sharing a bed." And flashes of skin. And crude language. Not to mention dirty feet. "And you can visit all you want. She isn't breastfeeding anymore, so it's not like you'd interrupt anything."

"Maybe not, but we won't be able to do anything with her in there." Naruto folded his arms over his chest. "Kurama says cats keep to their own space so I shouldn't expect a mate to come to me. But if I can't come to you, you'll have to come to me. It's only fair."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like he doesn't know as much about cats as he thinks he does. I'd rather come to you than dirty my own room." Anything he and Naruto did was bound to be messy. More convenient to leave the mess in Naruto's territory than his own.

With a wide grin, Naruto came over to sit on his knees beside him. "Every night?"

The fox really was fixated on the idea of nightly sex. Sasuke snorted in amusement. "Until I take or we start getting sick of it."

"Do you need to say goodnight to Sakura before we do anything?"

Sasuke blinked. Naruto was surprisingly considerate for an impatient fox kit. "No. She knows why I'm here. Besides, she won't come out of the bedroom for the rest of the night. It will be a while before she forgives me for flashing skin at her."

"I liked you flashing skin," Naruto grinned. "I wanted to yank that towel off with my teeth."

That would have meant a tumble right there on the floor. Sasuke smirked. "I'll shower in your bathroom from now on." Dancing blue eyes echoed his amusement, then Naruto finally moved on him, not for the kiss he had half expected, but to catch the collar of his shirt in his teeth and give it a playful tug.

As much as Naruto had hated waiting for him, he was glad Sasuke had finished his shower before getting dressed. All of that offensive dog smell was gone. The scent was all Sasuke now, tense and ready to counter anything he did. He could hear his slender tail wisping along the couch behind him. He wanted to grab that tail and pull just to see how angry he could make him without going too far. A cat's tail had to be more fragile than his own, though. He would have to be careful with it. He tugged the shirt back far enough to nuzzle his pale neck. One of the bruises he had spotted earlier was darkening. It wasn't right for his mate to wear bruises he hadn't left on him. He lapped it gently and then sucked hard, making the mark his own. Sasuke's head went back and his hands latched onto his upper arms with just a light bite of those deadly claws. His teeth ghosted over the tasty bit of skin in his mouth until Sasuke's scent thickened and the press of his claws became an exciting pinch. He nuzzled along his jaw and those flashing eyes locked onto his own. There was a challenge in them. Is that the best you can do? Naruto couldn't help shivering a little. "Can I tear your clothes off?" he asked quickly. He'd show him the best he could do once those clothes were out of the way.

The damned fox was too considerate, Sasuke decided. Had Naruto simply done so he could have complained after the fact. If he gave Naruto permission to destroy his clothes he would have only himself to blame. A shame. Until he used the money Naruto was paying him to buy more clothes he had to do the responsible thing and protect the clothes he did have.

"No," Sasuke sighed. Those pointed ears drooped back, disappointment fitting him like a second skin. He wouldn't have thought a fox could look appealing when he pouted, but Naruto managed it somehow. He smirked and flexed his hands so his claws snagged in Naruto's sleeves. "But I'll tear your clothes off, if you like. I'm sure you have plenty of clothes where these came from."

"Tons of clothes," Naruto breathed, his eyes wide as his tail whipped into an eager wag. "A fox has more clothes than he'll ever need to wear." And now he finally understood that nonsensical rule. "Help me get rid of some of them?"

"With pleasure," Sasuke purred. He pounced, knocking Naruto back on the cushions so he was crouched over him. That bushy tail flicked around, catching the curling tip of his own. The soothing stroke of their fur was gentle enough to make him a little uneasy, but he supposed a bit of milktoast twining was tolerable. Especially when Naruto was inviting him to use his claws. "Be very still," he warned him, their mouths a breath apart, "or I'll cut you."

"I have thick skin," Naruto grinned, "and I heal fast." His heart was thudding so hard and fast it felt like he was the one purring. He lifted his head to lap at Sasuke's smirking lips. "You're more panther than cat. Do you know that?"

Sasuke had often thought so, but he didn't need that sort of flattery from a fox, let alone from his own temporary mate. "Do you know you talk too much?" A hand caught in his hair, yanking his head down for a heated and sloppy kiss that was completely lacking in finesse. Fuck finesse. He nipped at Naruto's lips, fighting his roving tongue until that hand clenched painfully in his hair. Naruto growled and his other hand closed around the base of his tail in a hard stroke that had his back arching. Sasuke raked his hands down his chest, the sound of the rending cloth a perfect counterpoint to that growl. He was careful to avoid cutting, not just because he doubted Naruto's skin was as thick as he'd claimed, but because he wanted to see and feel that skin before he risked marking it up.

The feather light feel of Sasuke's claws was going to drive Naruto crazy. He was going to strip away all of that restraint. He would make him take hold, dig in, and tear. Sasuke was an explosive just begging to be set off. He had known it the instant he had seen him, smelled him, felt the current of his whipping tail. The tip of that tail was twining and curling around his own, sweetly hesitant and gentle and at complete odds with the hungry body stretched out over him. Sasuke didn't know what to do with his tail because he had never let anyone touch it before. Naruto found his restraint impressive and a little unnerving. He was going to shred it as badly as Sasuke's claws had done to his shirt. No, he'd do it even more cleanly than that. He wouldn't leave all the tattered bits to taunt and tease. The rough strips of cloth were torture on his skin, getting in the way of Sasuke's smooth hands. He devoured his mouth, his right hand massaging the stiff base of his sleek tail until Sasuke's shoulders came down and his hands dug into his chest. Strong hands that pulled and massaged but still wouldn't give him a taste of their claws. Sasuke was much too controlled and contained. He'd just have to set him off. With one more delving taste of that delicious mouth, he caught his arms around Sasuke's shoulders and back and rolled them off the couch.

Sasuke hissed when he hit the floor hard, his head just missing the low lying table. He might have smashed his tail if it hadn't been securely curled around Naruto's. His eyes flashed and a warning growl started in his throat. "What are you doing?"

"Pissing you off," Naruto smirked. It was obviously working. He yanked the tattered remains of his shirt off and swooped down to pull Sasuke's over his head. He went for Sasuke's shorts before that growl could let up. Maybe it wasn't good to want his mate irritated. But Sasuke smelled great when he was edgy, and those claws of his were digging into the plush carpet in a way that made him feel stupidly jealous. Sasuke would probably be as reluctant to claw up the couch as he was to claw him. Wild cats shouldn't be so nice. The niceness was supposed to come later, after he had fucked him into exhaustion so heavy his prickly cat didn't have the energy to complain about being pet and cuddled. Their tails slipped apart as Sasuke lifted his hips and let him pull the shorts off. He really wished he could have torn them off instead. There was a submissive curl to Sasuke's tail when his hips settled into the carpet. Naruto hadn't done anything to earn that. He would, though.

Sasuke's toes dug into the carpet as Naruto ducked down to take him in his mouth. He did his best not to writhe. He had some pride left, and the carpet wasn't quite as soft as it had looked. He stayed mostly still, but his tail lashed and curled, snapping at Naruto's shoulders until he brought his own tail around for him to latch onto. He hadn't expected this, would never have guessed it would feel so good to be eaten alive. A rumbling started in his throat, more purr than growl. He should have been on his knees by now. If he came in Naruto's mouth he doubted he would enjoy the sex very much. They had done enough rubbing on the couch for him to know Naruto was hung like a damned fox. His claws bit into the carpet as his hips strained upward for just a little more, just a little longer. He would stop him in a minute. He wasn't that far gone yet. It might even be worth it. As good as that tongue had felt in his mouth it was even better rubbing and curling around him.

A low moan broke from his cat. Naruto lifted his head to drink in the sight of Sasuke's flushed face, his heaving chest, and his hands' desperate clutch on the carpet. He had done that, conned his first cry from Sasuke. He was going to get more of them, a lot more, and he would earn every single one of them. He swooped down to drag his tongue along the side of his neck. One of the dogs must have grabbed him by the neck because bruises were blooming on both sides. He lavished the marks with his tongue. He had to remind himself there was no point being upset about those marks. Sasuke had killed the mutts like the wild cat he was. A frustrated wild cat, who was definitely growling again. Fumbling with his pants, he lifted his head and met those hungrily flashing eyes. "I want to make you do that to me," he admitted thickly. His wasn't really a growl, not like Sasuke's, just a needy rumble. "I'd like to hold you down and come in your mouth."

Sasuke felt his ears flatten out even as his body reacted eagerly to the threat. The damned fox was direct as hell and he liked it way too much. It should have been irritating, not exciting. "I won't get pregnant from that," he said scathingly. "Save it for my ass." He might have known Naruto would grin, but the laugh caught him by surprise. He had seen theirs as an angry violent mating. There shouldn't have been place for laughter in that.

"You have a lot to learn about foxes, Sasuke." Naruto made his voice as taunting as he could, bringing a wealth of annoyance to Sasuke's flushed face. It was a pleasure to be able to rile him so easily. "I could come all night and still fill you up first thing in the morning."

No canine should be that arrogant. Sasuke's upper lip curled. "Bold claim for a virgin fox kit. I won't be taking any chances until you've proven yourself." He untwined his tail from Naruto's and rose on one elbow. His eyes flicked tauntingly from Naruto's bulging pants to his laughing eyes. "Well? Show me what you've got."

Naruto was only too happy to oblige him. He might be a kit compared to old foxes like Kurama, but he had been an adult where it counted for a couple of years now. He was confident he had enough to impress a cat. Sasuke was a tough cat, but he was still feline. He would impress him, and maybe intimidate him a little? Nope, no chance of that. Sasuke eyed him with such a cool unimpressed expression that Naruto's confidence would have taken a beating if it weren't for his scent. Sasuke's body definitely smelled impressed, and the twitching tip of his tail revealed at least a little nervousness. Or maybe that was anticipation. Either way, it was a very satisfying reaction from his cat. "Well?" Naruto shot back, smirking down at him.

"That just proves you're a fox," Sasuke said flatly. He had already known that, he just hadn't fully considered what that meant in terms of mating. This was going to be rough. He didn't let Naruto see how much he was looking forward to that challenge. "Whether or not you know how to use it remains to be seen. It's not like you have experience or stamina."

"I'll show you stamina. I'm going to wear you out so bad you won't be able to move tomorrow," Naruto promised. He shivered eagerly as he crawled forward to press their lengths together. One slow stroke had Sasuke arching against the carpet, his face twisted with begrudging pleasure. Sasuke would have to unsheathe those claws if he wanted to prick his ego. "You won't have to worry about visiting me tomorrow night because you'll still be here, sleeping it off in my bed. I might not even wait till tomorrow night. I bet I'll be ready to do you again as soon as I wake up. You'll be breeding by the end of the week."

"Stop bragging and get on with it," Sasuke bit out. Naruto's stroking grip wasn't nearly as good as his mouth, but it would still be enough to finish him off. "So far you're all talk." He shoved on Naruto's chest, levering him back. He had planned to turn on his own, but Naruto grabbed him around the middle and flipped him over. He growled at being manhandled that way. Apparently even obscenely confident foxes didn't like having their egos poked. He tensed when Naruto caught the tip of his tail in his right hand, curling it around his wrist and pinning it against his hip. There wouldn't be any tail-twining during this, then. It was probably just as well. He dug his claws into the carpet, ducked his head, and braced himself. At the first push he found himself biting back a curse. He might as well be a terrified priss from the way his tail puffed up and his body trembled with a sudden need to get away.

Naruto ran a concerned hand over the base of that fluffed up tail, smoothing the fur down only for it to bounce back up. He hadn't even gotten the tip in before Sasuke had tensed up and pulled away. His scent had changed as well. The attraction was still there, a thick hungry impatience that challenged him to do his worst because that still might not be enough to keep up with a cat like Sasuke. His taunting scent was as irresistible as ever. But there was an underlying nervousness that was much too close to fear. He didn't ever want Sasuke to smell like that. He definitely didn't want to be to blame for him smelling like that. "Sasuke…?"

Sasuke let out a disgusted breath. He was panting, for fuck's sake. "Don't mind me," he huffed, nearly laughing at the utter absurdity of him freezing up at the last moment. "My body doesn't know what it wants." He reached back and gave himself a harsh stroke. The sharp mix of pain and pleasure was enough to flatten his confused tail out. "Just do it."

"I'll do that, too," Naruto said firmly. He bent forward and curled his own hand around him. Someday he would love to watch Sasuke pleasure himself. Right now it was his job. He lay over him, kissing and nipping at the back of his neck as he worked all of that sudden nervousness out of his scent. He let go just long enough to position himself. Sasuke's tail jerked against his hand, but the fur stayed down this time. That was good. Sasuke gave a guttural growl and between the tightness and the burning Naruto was barely halfway in when he came. That was not good at all. He groaned in complete embarrassment and dropped to hide his face against Sasuke's tense back. He was never going to live this down.

"You can't be serious," Sasuke murmured in a deadly calm voice. All of that boasting and the damned fox hadn't managed a single thrust. He didn't think Naruto had even made it all the way in. His ass was stinging like a bitch, and for what? Naruto might as well have jerked off, poked the tip in, and came. His growl thickened dangerously. That was, in fact, a good summation of what had just happened.

Naruto didn't like to whine. He sounded like a little kit when he whined. But Sasuke was going to get the wrong idea and that just wasn't fair. His body was more than ready to get back in there and try again. He had enough pent up need that he was sure he could pound his way to a nice smooth ride. But that would be a hell of a thing to do to his mate. Bad enough he had made such a beginner's mistake without being an asshole on top of it. So he whined, a placating sound that fit him better than he liked, and slowly eased off him. "I forgot the lube…"

Sasuke wrenched his tail free and rose to glare at the damned fox. That pathetic whine didn't make so much as a dent in his wrath, or his contempt. "You forgot what, the sex?"

"The lube," Naruto grimaced. "It's in my room."

One good look was all it took for Sasuke to hesitate. Naruto looked embarrassed, sheepish, as well he should. But he was also every bit as hard as he had been earlier. He certainly didn't smell satisfied, more like frustrated. Sasuke took a tight grip on his temper. Naruto was young, after all. Maybe this was a false start rather than an utter fail. "What are you talking about?"

"Lube." Naruto blinked. "You don't know what lube is?" That would explain why Sasuke hadn't reminded him. His embarrassment faded, replaced by relief. He might have forgotten one of the basics of sex, but at least he had known about it. That was more than Sasuke could say, apparently. "We have to use lube. Lubrication. It's a gel. That way it goes in smooth. Otherwise you'd tear and bleed." And he would be rubbed raw. He didn't mention that part.

"I've never heard of that," Sasuke said suspiciously. He had expected to bleed. The entire point of having Naruto at his back was so he wouldn't be able to use his claws to bleed him in return. And tearing? Obviously an ass couldn't fit something Naruto's size without tearing. If he hadn't thought he could handle it, he wouldn't be here. As far as he was concerned, the pain was half the appeal. "That sounds like something pansies use. We don't need that. It isn't fucking if it doesn't hurt."

With a stubborn shake of his head, Naruto hopped up and reached down to snag Sasuke's hand. "You only say that because you've never used it. It's great to jerk off with, slippery as hell. And it's not like it'll stop you from being a tight ass. There's some kind of stretching people do for that, but you'd have to relax for it to work. I don't see that happening." From Sasuke's snort, he didn't see it happening either. "Besides, if fucking is supposed to hurt, we'll have to do it face to face. I'd feel bad biting you if you can't even scratch me back. I want to bite you a lot," Naruto said earnestly. "I want you to scratch me back a lot, too."

Sasuke let out a sharp laugh. "You might be as twisted as I am."

"See?" Naruto beamed, his tail twitching into a happy wag. "It's like I said, we'll be great together. You'll never want to leave my bed."

"Assuming you can manage more than a partial penetration," Sasuke scoffed.

"That's where the lube comes in." Naruto scowled when all he got was a raised eyebrow and a skeptical look. He'd show him. By the time he was done Sasuke wouldn't be able to crawl from his bed, much less walk back to his own room.

.-.

"The hell do you mean we're not having sex?" Renji demanded. Outrage and pent up lust made him impervious to Byakya's haughy stare. "You're paying me to knock you up."

"I am," Byakuya said calmly. "However, as I am not currently in heat the odds of that happening are slim. I see no point engaging in carnal relations when there is little chance of it proving fruitful. Tomorrow I will establish you as my new mate." His eyes dropped to the painfully pink and flowery robe the dog was wearing. Renji had walked through his hallway in that. He would have to see to it he never did so again. "You will be paid," and suitably clothed, "to fill that role in public to the best of your abilities." He held no hope that Renji would be anything short of an utter disaster. He would need to limit his public appearances accordingly, which he certainly wouldn't mind. "When my next heat arrives, I will send for you to fulfill the primary service for which I am paying." He turned back to the mirror and resumed the tedious task of removing the clips from his hair. When the pink and red shadow remained rooted in place behind him, he sniffed. "You may return to your room now."

"Oh, fuck that," Renji growled. He was too exasperated to be insulted. The cat might talk to his own people that way, but Renji wasn't having any of it. He saw Byakuya stiffen, his reflected face pulling into a disapproving frown, probably at his language. Not that he gave a shit. He stalked over to the enormous orgy-sized bed and flopped on it, rumpling the sinfully silky bedspread and squirming till he was good and comfortable. The appalled look on Byakuya's face was almost worth not getting any tonight. "I'm staying right here, princess. Might as well get used to it. I'll be sleeping with you every night till our deal is done."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed into steely glints. He could feel his tail threatening to puff at the sheer nerve of the mutt. "Have you forgotten that I am the one paying you?"

"Nope." Renji propped himself on one elbow, letting the silly robe Rukia had gifted him slip off his shoulder. The cat looked. Byakuya might be a frigid priss, but he wasn't as immune as he liked to act. Renji smirked and stretched out to take up more space. His bare leg got another look. It wasn't just his hair the cat was hot for. "You're paying me to knock you up. If you're paying me to play a 'proper' mate, too, all the better. No mate worth his tail would leave a cat like you all on his lonesome. I'll be sticking to you till you're good and heavy."

"I will not tolerate insolence in my own house."

A half-hearted complaint at best. Those gray eyes might be icy, but they were also having trouble staying on his face. Renji had been around long enough to know when he was being checked out. "I'm not being insolent, sweetheart, just honest. We value honesty where I come from." His eyes dropped to Byakuya's snapping tail, and he lifted them back up with a slow smile. "You might want to try it sometime."

Byakuya snapped his attention back to the mirror. Despite the dog's infuriating boldness, he was relatively harmless. He might bluster, but he was still a virgin who had sheltered a young cat as his adopted sister. His mouth was a problem, but he seemed to be intentionally inciting him, hoping to get a reaction out of him. All he had to do was ignore it and eventually that mouth might shut on its own. One thing was certain. Despite his rough edges, or possibly because of them, Renji looked good on his bed. It wouldn't hurt for a servant to see him still sprawled there in the morning. "If you are that determined, then you may stay." He gave a cool look over his shoulder, and frowned disapprovingly at the dog's smug grin. This was not the game Renji seemed to view it as. "I warn you, though, if you touch me during the night I will have to find someone else to sire my children." His eyes went pointedly to Renji's lewdly bent knee. "You will no longer be capable of it."

Renji squirmed, just a bit. He didn't lose his grin, though. "Your claws aren't just for show, eh? Warning taken, baby."

"You will address me as Kuchiki, or Byakuya, or not at all."

"Byakuya. I like that," Renji admitted. "Rolls off the tongue like honey...Byakuya-hime." He was disappointed when the cat didn't even raise an eyebrow.

Byakuya turned away before Renji could see and wonder about his tight smile. His voice remained cool and if not casual then at least calm. "Another acquaintance of mine calls me that. I will make it a point to introduce you to him."

"As long as he's not after your tail, count me in. Sounds fun."

It very well could be. Byakuya indulged in a small smirk for just a moment before wiping the expression away. If anyone could smack a loftily bold dog back to earth, it was Zaraki Kenpachi. How strange to think his association with that heathen might finally serve a purpose.

.-.

"She said there's biting," Ishida sighed. He bumped the top of his head against Ichigo's chin and purred harder when that chin obliged him with an ear rub. "I don't see why there has to be biting. It isn't civilized."

"It's the tail," Ichigo frowned. His hand was curled around the base of Ishida's tail and it only took a gentle stroke to have him purring and squirming. Forget being uncivilized. It was flat out cruel to bite such a sensitive body part. "I don't get it, either, but I've heard the same thing as you. Biting the tail, ripping chunks out of the tail." He didn't blame Ishida when he made an unhappy sound. "You have to bite the tail, and pull on it, too."

"I'll probably cry," Ishida muttered furiously. It would have come out sharper if he hadn't been purring so loudly. "I'll be utterly humiliated. No amount of alcohol could make that not hurt."

"I'm not sure the alcohol is helping, anyway." They were lying on the couch, Ishida fitting nicely on top of him with his slender tail twined snuggly around his own. Ishida seemed to have taken a fixation to his left nipple, his fingers rubbing and circling it ever so often so it remained hard and tingly. It was all the brushing and rubbing Ichigo could have hoped for. They had even kissed for a second earlier, before the alcohol had made sitting up too difficult. Ishida was warm and comfortable against him, and that was the problem. Neither of them was especially hard, and Ichigo didn't have much of an interest in getting hard. He was content to stay just like this. He hadn't even needed to take Ishida's glasses off. It turned out, Ishida purred just fine with them on. Who knew?

"Maybe we drank too much," Ichigo offered.

"Nonsense," Ishida said firmly. "If we were drunk we'd be having sex and I'd be crying because you'd be biting me. We clearly need to drink a lot more if we're to advance to the mating." He sighed as he tried and failed to muster the effort required to get up. Ichigo's nipple might flatten out if he left it. The one he was lying on already had. But he was the host here as well as the paying party. It was up to him to forgo the interesting nipple and fetch the drinks. He gave another half-hearted squirm. "I have more bottles in my room."

Ichigo tightened his arm, keeping Ishida firmly in place. "Forget it. I don't want you getting up. I don't want any more to drink, either. We can mate tomorrow night."

"I suppose it is rather late now." And the thought of drinking even more wasn't very appealing. Ishida gave in and nuzzled his head into the curve of Ichigo's neck once more. "I'll ask Byakuya for stronger alcohol so we won't have to drink as much next time."

"I really don't think the alcohol is helping."

Ishida smiled. Ichigo was surprisingly stubborn for such an awkward dog. "It has you touching me. That's an improvement."

Considering this liquid purring cat was the same one he had dubbed a skittish prude, Ichigo had to concede his point. He didn't say that out loud, though. He was content to hold him and feel him and enjoy Ishida's booze-induced complacency while it lasted. He suspected they were going to be sick as hell come morning.

.-.

Naruto wasn't all talk. Sasuke decided he would take this as a lesson about his new mate if not about foxes in general. There was so much blood under his nails it would be hell to wash away in the morning. It would have to wait till morning because, just as Naruto had threatened, he wouldn't be moving any time soon. He was surprised to have scratched him so deeply. He had never scratched someone who wasn't attacking him. Naruto's bites weren't that hard. In fact, he had only broken skin once as far as Sasuke was aware. But his grip was as unyeilding as his hips. Had theirs been a fight rather than a fuck he doubted he would have gotten free without going for his throat and eyes. That was the real reason he had wet his claws. He had discovered that he didn't like being restrained even when it was more pleasurable than painful and he was an entirely willing participant. His tail had fluffed more than once and he had found himself clawing at Naruto's back with serious intent. It was Naruto's tail that had brought him down each time, just a brush and his own had latched onto it like an anchor. He would have to think about that later, to figure out why during the middle of violently delicious sex some part of him sought out a soft and gentle touch. He didn't want to have that sort of weakness and he didn't like the thought of someone knowing he had it, especially when that someone was his own mate. A mate who had done his best to impress him whereas he had merely been along for the ride, scratches included. He could already tell keeping up with his new mate was going to be difficult.

"Come on, Sasuke," Naruto wheedled. He ran his hands over Sasuke's smooth back. The muscles that had been so tense in his arms were now sleek and languid, much like his tail. Sasuke was sprawled on his stomach, tail tucked between and under his legs and effectively blocking Naruto from where he wanted to be. It would have been easy to lift that limp tail, but it was so much more rewarding to have Sasuke lift it for him. He let his fingers slip down to rub and curl around the base of his tail and earned an irritated twitch for his efforts. He was probably going to have to piss him off again.

"Fuck off," Sasuke muttered. He would have swatted him with his tail if he hadn't known better than to lift it. "We're done for the night." Or he was, at any rate.

Naruto tightened his hold, changing the teasing carress into a taunting tug. "Just one more time. You know you're up for it." The growl was a long time in coming, but it did come, just as he had known it would.

"That's what you said last time," Sasuke growled. "Use your hand if you're still not satisfied." He felt the bed move but didn't bother lifting his head.

"Are you going to watch?" asked Naruto. His ears perked up at the thought. It might be hot to have his mate lazily watching as he got himself off. If he was good about it he might even heat him up enough for another go. "That could be fun."

Sasuke shot down the perverted fox's hopes without a moment's hesitation. "I'm going to sleep. Have fun on your own." His ears flattened when the fox whined and rubbed against his back. As if that would make him change his mind. "You're sweaty. Get off."

"Oh, come on, Sasuke. Let's make some babies."

Naruto wasn't very persuasive. He was amusing, though. Sasuke had to give him that much. His lips twitched, his face safely hidden against the pillows where the hint of a smile couldn't be seen. "By my count we've already made three and a half. That's enough babies for one night."

"An even dozen would be better," Naruto grumbled. "Half a dozen, if you want to be stingy about it."

Sasuke huffed out a laugh. "Not even you could come a dozen times, Naruto."

"Is that a challenge?" Naruto grinned when this got him another muffled laugh. "How about a deal? If I get to nine on my own, you have to help and keep me company to twelve."

Sasuke turned his head enough to smirk up at him. "And when your dick falls off at seven, will I get paid the same as if you were still capable of breeding?"

"Of course," Naruto said stoutly. "That's only fair."

That confidence of his was as exasperating as it was amusing. "Do you really think you could come that many times?"

Naruto grinned. "With the promise of three more rounds with you? Absolutely. Are you game?"

Although there was a slim chance he was dooming himself to a day of unwanted bedrest, Sasuke couldn't resist a challenge like that. If nothing else, Naruto would be exhausted and sore as hell if he did make it to nine, while he would get an entertaining rest. Naruto had never specified exactly how he had to help him get to an even dozen, after all. It would be fun to see Naruto's reaction when he offered up his hand rather than his ass to keep him company for the last three. "Grab the lube and get started," Sasuke drawled. "I'll prepare myself to be impressed."

"You bet your ass you'll be impressed," Naruto boasted. "And then your ass will be mine."

Sasuke smirked. "We'll see."

.-.

"Fox wrestling?" Rukia tried to maintain a straight face and failed miserably. She cracked, snorted, and then she was laughing as loudly as Karin. "What a dumbass."

"All the guy foxes do it," Karin assured her. It would have been a better impression if she hadn't been snickering. "I asked him if they all have big penises. That's when he broke the remote."

"Like he'd know, anyway," Rukia scoffed. "I asked him if dogs all have wrinkly ones once and he about swallowed his tongue." She frowned when she recalled the less funny part of that incident. "Then he wanted his name."

"What was his name?"

"Theirs, and I don't know. It was just some puppies playing with a hydrant." Rukia didn't mention the other penis she had seen, on a horrible-smelling and possibly dead dog. His had been wrinkly as well, but she had known by then not to say anything to Renji about it. He was too highstrung to handle her seeing a possibly dead body, let alone a possibly dead penis.

"I've never even seen that much," said Karin. Most of her friends were male, but she had zero interest in finding out what they looked like. She had told her father that when he had given her the talk. It was insulting how easily he had believed her. The boys she hung out with were just puppies. No one would be curious about them. She watched Rukia hit the button that would take them back to the fox channel. That channel was in the three hundreds and they were still working their way up to one hundred. This could take all night. It was a shame the television set didn't have numbers on it instead of just the up and down arrows. "What do you think?" she asked Rukia. "Do you think all foxes have big penises?"

"No way," Rukia said dismissively. "They would never get their pants buttoned if they did. It was probably a fluff show. Everything is fake in those."

"Even the sex?" She scowled at Rukia's pitying look. "You better not say it was wrestling. You already laughed at that. Besides, I know wrestling. Even foxes can't be weird enough to do that naked. All their bits would get smashed."

"Of course it wasn't wrestling." Rukia rolled her eyes. "You would think he'd come up with a better explanation than that, as long as he's been trying to shelter me. But I doubt it was sex, either. Why would two male foxes have sex? They can't breed with each other. It had to have been fluff. I've heard some of Renji's friends talking about their fluff collections. It's all dirty games and joke sports and fake body parts. That's the whole point of fluff. It's fake as hell."

"Then it was fake sex." Which, as far as Karin was concerned, meant she had been right all along. As much as she liked her, Rukia could be as patronizing as Ichigo sometimes. Only the fact that Rukia would at least talk to her honestly about this stuff kept her from taking it personally. "Do you think the cats here watch that channel?"

"No chance in hell," Rukia laughed. "Renji says his cat is a total priss and Ichigo's is a skittish nerd. The servant cats might watch some fluff now and then, but I doubt they'd have time. Or televisions, for that matter."

"What about the big cat, Matsumoto?"

Rukia didn't have a confident answer for that one. The big-boobed cat had looked at her as if she knew exactly what she was and wanted to grab her up and do...something. That was as weird as the idea of two male foxes having real sex with each other. She hoped she was wrong about the woman. Maybe Matsumoto had a thing for boy dogs and had mistaken her for one. That, at least, was something she was used to.

"I could see her watching that channel," Rukia admitted reluctantly. She wished she couldn't. Even she knew female cats shouldn't be watching stuff like that, and Matsumoto was most definitely female. Her hand dropped from the television and she turned an uneasy frown on Karin. "Maybe we shouldn't try to get back to that channel. Messing with Renji is fun and all, but I do have to be a cat now. I don't want to be the sort of cat who watches fox fluff."

"It's still hard to think of you as a real cat," Karin frowned. She didn't want her to be a real cat because she didn't want her to change. Rukia was the only female she could actually get along with, because Rukia was as much a tomboy as she was. But Rukia was officially a cat now. A female cat, which was even worse. "Do you have to grow your hair out and wear dresses and...act like a lady now?" And never touch a ball again. As a dog, Karen knew people disapproved of girls playing sports and hanging out with the guys. Girl cats were too prissy to even consider it.

"Don't be stupid," Rukia scoffed. "I might be a cat, but I'll never be some pretty pussy. The only reason girls wear dresses is because skirts are easier to get under than pants. If I ever put a dress on, you better believe I'll be wearing my boots under it. Soccer balls aren't the only balls I'm good at kicking. That'll never change."

Karin laughed, thinking of those foxes and their fragile looking balls. Rukia had nearly popped her soccer ball the first time she had kicked it. No guy would stand a chance against her. "I wish I had boots like yours."

"We'll have Ichigo get you some now that he'll have money. You're old enough that you'll be needing them soon, anyway."

"I should have known he was getting paid," Karin muttered. She was glad to latch onto that topic since it was much safer. She had been dreading her first heat ever since that talk with her dad. It would be painful to have to beat up her own friends just to keep them from smelling her tail. Too bad not all dogs were as cat-crazy as her brother. "Ichigo would never hook up with a nerd unless he was getting paid to." One of her teammates was a nerd and Ichigo couldn't even look at him without wincing. He wasn't mean about it, of course, he just wasn't good at hiding his sympathy, both for the nerd himself and for her having such a nerd as her friend. It really wasn't fair. Her mate might like books and wear glasses, but he played a good game despite that.

"A nerdy cat is still a cat," Rukia said with a wisdom taken straight from Renji's handbook. "The fact that he's rich makes him an even better catch. Renji's hopeless, but Ichigo could probably make this work if he tried. He's nice, after all." She grinned maliciously because that was a heavy insult for any male dog in their neighborhood. "He'll never get anywhere at home because he's just too damned nice for his own good. But in a cat house? A rich cat house? He'll be a big dog by default. If he was smart, he'd take advantage of that."

"You mean marry the cat for real? He did say they would consider marriage once the kids came along. If they lasted that long." Karin sighed at the unlikelihood of that. "Things would be so much simpler if he hadn't gone cat-crazy. Why couldn't he settle down with a nice female dog like dad did?"

"Because unlike your dad he didn't fall in love before hitting puberty." That was the way Renji had explained it, at least. Ichigo's dad was safe for her to be around because no matter how much he might flirt with her he had loved his wife too much to betray her memory by messing around with another female. That sounded like a lot of romantic tripe to Rukia, but it was a nice explanation to give Karin. Rukia had no evidence to support her own suspicions, after all. If Ichigo's dad was as crazy for male cats as Ichigo was, he was being insanely discrete about it. Even she had a hard time picturing that nutjob being discrete about anything.

"I told Ichigo we'd help him with his nerdy cat," Karin admitted. "Since nerds like little girls."

Rukia snorted her way into another laughing fit. "Where the hell did you pull that from, your ass?"

"I guess," Karin smiled, with an embarrassed flush.

"Ichigo's as dumb as Renji if he believed that. Nerds hate little girls. Good thing we're as far from little girls as you can get, eh?"

"Yeah," Karin agreed quietly. She didn't join Rukia in her laughter and it took a while for her face to cool off. As much as she hated the thought of Rukia becoming a girly girl, she had been perfectly willing to act the part if it would help Ichigo. She privately hoped Rukia was wrong for once. If the nerdy cat didn't like little girls then he definitely wouldn't like girls like them. She could accept not being able to help Ichigo. She didn't want to be responsible for making things harder on him. He did enough of that all on his own.

.-.

Renji didn't snore. He did, however, touch in his sleep. It started with a leg. An arm followed soon after. When the tail came over, Byakuya snapped and unceremoniously rolled him back onto the other side of the bed. The incorrigible dog didn't even have the shame to grumble in his sleep. Byakuya watched as Renji squirmed comfortably into the blanket and those limbs began another slow creep in his direction. By all rights he should have deballed him and been done with it. He wasn't one to make idle threats. Instead, he stared at him and considered his situation at length. Again. He was too old to be lacking a mate and nearly too old to be lacking an heir and a spare. Even Zaraki had taken to seriously propositioning him, as if he were an old maid beyond any hope of sex, let alone breeding. He was not. He was simply too proud to chain his future to anyone who failed to fit his exacting standards. That his advisors still insisted on throwing foxes at him was an added insult. He would sooner name Hitsugaya his heir and let his bloodline end with him than tolerate the touch of someone he was not attracted to.

He was attracted to dogs. He had come to grips with that shameful truth years ago. As a kitten he had been inundated with prospective mates, all foxes as his status required. He had found himself more interested in the infuriatingly crass female who led them in, if only because she maintained an amused air of dignity amidst the pathetic simpering. Had he been older he might have wondered why her scent was different from the other female cats he had encountered. As a kitten, he had simply noticed and been drawn to it. He had responded to her teasing with a frustrated fury that was still embarrassing to recall. She had provoked him until he finally snapped and chased her from the estate...all the way to her home where her mate had been waiting as if their introduction were a foregone conclusion. His first encounter with a male dog was with a mated one, a scruffy unkempt dog sporting a dust of prickly-looking facial hair of all things. Yet he had reacted to his scent so strongly he had barred Yoruichi from his property for the next two years. That was how long it had taken to accept the truth. Like her, he would never be attracted to a member of his own class. Pathetic as it was, even wolves failed to spark his interest. He had no choice but to marry down, which would damage his standing with his peers and be a legal nightmare besides, or take a dog as a temporary mate, which would merely be viewed as the prerogative of an eccentric and disgustingly wealthy cat.

Having someone like Renji in his bed did make him feel rather eccentric. He was dallying with a dog. He had never done anything to inspire gossip, aside from rejecting every fox who sniffed his way. Now he was set on flaunting Renji in all of his uncouth glory instead of hiding him away like the lower class necessity he was. Byakuya had intended to hide him, to let the servants mistake him for some sort of guest being tolerated for whatever reason they chose to attribute to him. They wouldn't have dared to assume the truth. But Renji was in his bed and was determined to be there every night. The dog hadn't just stood up to him, he had flaunted his amusement, had openly enjoyed standing up to him. Byakuya wanted to see how well that inflated ego of his stood up to his more annoying peers. They weren't nearly as good at ignoring provocation as he was.

With far more forebearance this time, he once again rolled Renji back onto the other side of the bed. He calmly crushed an immature urge to roll him so hard he fell off the bed entirely. His bed was large enough to contain the interloper and he was mature enough to tolerate his presence. He was not, however, fickle enough to change his mind about postponing the mating until his body was at its most fertile. It was one thing to accept his attraction for the dog. It was another thing entirely to indulge that attraction any more than was strictly necessary in order to achieve his goals. He had more than enough self-discipline to ignore the temptation Renji presented. So long as Renji refrained from touching him in his own bed...

Byakuya built up a barrier of pillows between them before lying down. He was very glad the dog wasn't awake to see his disgust at having to resort to such a prissy move.

.-.  
TBC


	4. Curiosity and Restraint

Kurama barely felt Hiei leave the bed. By the time he woke enough to look over his shoulder the only evidence he'd had company during the night was the open window. The lingering warmth beside him was so faint he might be imagining it. He had no actual memory of Hiei joining him. That whisper of motion following the knock could have been a breeze shuffling the curtains. Except there was no wind and the curtains were tied back, just as he'd left them last night. He hoped Hiei hadn't gone far.

Another knock sounded on the door, too hard and quick to be a servant. Kurama heaved a long sigh as he rolled onto his back. As much as he disliked being rousted from bed every time Naruto had a crisis, he had to give the boy credit for at least waiting till dawn this time…and for waiting to be invited rather than rushing in like he usually did.

"You may come in, Naruto," he called. The kit peeked around the room before darting in and shutting the door behind him. Kurama's nose wrinkled. "You should have showered before leaving your room. A fox does not-"

"Assault people with his stench," Naruto finished impatiently. "I know. But Sasuke stole my bathroom and I've gotta talk to you. We mated last night."

"I can smell that," Kurama said distastefully. From the way Naruto reeked of blood, cat, and peach scented lubricant it was clear he and his new mate had been quite busy. Unlike him, with only an open window to show for his efforts. "I do hope you'll spare me the details."

"No way," Naruto huffed. He hurried to the side of the bed as quickly as he could while trying to limit the amount of rubbing his clothes did to his back and crotch. He scowled when Kurama didn't even bother to sit up. "You're old. You know all about this stuff. How come I went dry at six? Well, six and a half, but still. Is that normal? Do I just need more practice? How many times can you go?"

"I am far from old," Kurama murmured warningly. "Comments like that will not persuade me to help you." He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing out a few snags and giving Naruto time to bluster his way to at least a pretence of respectful civility.

Naruto wanted to tackle him and beat all of that 'civilized fox' bullshit out of him so they could talk like real people. Kurama would torture him if he so much as mussed up his hair. As an oldtimer, Kurama's torture methods were creative and ruthless. Abject humiliation featured highly in most of them. Naruto had been humiliated enough last night. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth until his jaw hurt. Polite and respectful, whether it was false as hell or not. It was just a mask. Kakashi wore masks all the time and he was a fucking wolf. Naruto could handle putting the polite one on in order to keep Kurama from designing some new way to traumatize him.

Kurama watched with fond amusement as Naruto reigned himself in. The boy was genuine and struggled with the insincere niceties their class required. Naruto was a fox far past the age of wearing his heart on his sleeve. Kurama didn't mind if Naruto remained a dog at heart so long as he learned to at least act like a fox when necessary. Right now it was very necessary. Kurama didn't appreciate being asked to discuss sex when Hiei might very well be listening from the roof. He required a modicum of respect before he would put himself out that way.

"Good morning," Naruto growled finally. "I'm sorry for intruding so early in the morning. I hope you slept well." And he meant that last bit because Kurama obviously hadn't gotten any last night. It was no wonder he was so uptight. Kurama was jealous, of course. "I didn't sleep well at all. I would appreciate it if you'd answer my questions."

"Good morning to you," Kurama smiled. "Was that really so hard?"

"Yes," Naruto snapped.

"You'll get better with practice." Kurama slipped off the bed and led the way to his bathroom. He turned on the shower and stood by the sink, looking away while Naruto accepted the invitation. "Practice makes perfect is true for sex as well as politeness," he told him. Naruto could hear him over the shower, but hopefully Hiei could not. "Stamina also increases with practice, but the amount of sperm a body produces does not. Diet can affect the consistency and taste, but the amount is determined by the size of the testicles. The balls," he said over his shoulder. "Yours won't be getting much bigger than they already are."

"You mean I'll never be able to top six?"

"That depends on how much you release each time you do come. Since your goal is to impregnate your mate, spilling your entire load the first time is more effective than spilling a bit over and over." Kurama raised an eyebrow, unable to make out Naruto's quiet grumbles. "It's the quality of the sex that matters, not how many rounds you can go. Frankly, it's cruel to expect a new mate to go more than two or three rounds in one night. If you think you're sore, he might very well be crippled. The fact that you're paying him doesn't excuse treating him badly."

"If he were crippled he wouldn't have beaten me to the bathroom," Naruto muttered. He completely ignored Kurama's lecture about exercising restraint. Showing consideration was fine. Had Sasuke been too sore to do any more he would have accepted that. He would have been disappointed and maybe a little guilty, but he wouldn't have argued about it. Restraint, though, was out of the question. If he exercised restraint he'd have to let Sasuke exercise it, too, and it was already hard to get Sasuke to let go of his.

"You should have let him return to his own room last night, or visited him there. He's a temporary mate," Kurama reminded him, "not a servant. You have to treat him with respect."

"We can't do anything in his room. He has a mom and her kitten in there."

By the time Naruto finished explaining about the ready-made family Sasuke had brought along with him, Kurama was more exasperated than annoyed. He had only himself to blame for this unexpected complication. He hadn't vetted Naruto's chosen mate, hadn't exchanged so much as a word with him. He had been too focused on Hiei to oversee the arrangement Naruto had made. Honestly, he had been relieved that Naruto had settled quickly and not gotten his face scratched off in the process. Quite frankly, Naruto was the horniest kit he had ever seen. It had gotten so bad he dreaded taking him to public appearances because he couldn't trust Naruto not to openly sniff the wrong cat. Many of the mated cats Kurama associated with would enjoy breaking in an enthusiastic kit, but Naruto was too young – and far too honest – to discretely poach another fox's bored spouse. Securing his heir and spare would keep him occupied and hopefully give him time to mature before he was once again free to catch the eye and nose of any sly cats who slipped his way.

"Can I take him shopping?" asked Naruto. "He needs a lot more clothes."

"Of course. He'll need a suitable wardrobe if he's to accompany us on the rounds." Kurama wondered what Hiei would look like in bold blues and reds. This would be a perfect opportunity to rid him of that cloak.

"Rounds?" Naruto demanded. He poked his head around the shower curtain to give Kurama an outraged and sopping wet glare. "I still have to go out with you? Why? I thought the whole point of getting a mate was so I wouldn't be on the market anymore!" Being on the marriage market was horrible. It was nothing but foxes he wasn't supposed to react to and cats he wasn't supposed to look at or sniff or get caught alone with. The foxes treated him like shit and the cats treated him like dinner when they weren't avoiding him at all costs as if he were rabid or something. He growled at Kurama. "I don't know what went wrong with your cat, but I mated with mine. I'm off the market now!"

"Temporarily," Kurama said patiently. It wasn't as if he hadn't explained how these things worked multiple times. "A temporary mate takes you off the market temporarily. Once you have your heir and spare you will no longer have a need to marry, so you will be off the market permanently. While working on that heir you have to make it known that you are, in fact, working on an heir in order to eschew marriage altogether. If you simply vanish from public sight, those interested in securing a match will seek you out. I, for one, do not want marriage-minded mamas showing up at my door with their kittens in tow." He didn't want any affair-minded married cats showing up at his door, either.

"What if Sasuke doesn't want to go around with me? I can't make him if he doesn't want to. I never said anything about him having to do that when we made our deal."

"I doubt he'll refuse," Kurama said with more dismissive confidence than he actually felt. "If he was willing to mate with you, then being seen standing beside you in nice clothing should be no hardship on his part." He turned away in order to keep his misgivings to himself. As a cat, Sasuke was bound to be better at feigning aloof disinterest than Naruto was. And if he wasn't? Well, one unpleasant scene might be enough to excuse him and Naruto from any more public appearances in the near future. No one would question their absence if they weren't invited to begin with.

Hiei was leaning against the wall just outside the bathroom. Kurama hid his surprise as he shut the door and let himself be shadowed back to the bedroom. His tone was more curious than censorious. "Letting yourself be caught defeats the purpose of eavesdropping. How long were you out there?"

"You left the door open," Hiei pointed out.

Kurama wasn't about to admit he had done so in order to listen for any sign of Hiei returning via the window or exiting via the door. He hadn't heard a sound. Hiei, on the other hand, might have heard everything. "Naruto grew up among dogs, in a neighborhood nearly as bad as the one we visited last night. He has the instincts and looks of a fox, but none of the refinements necessary for polite society. Some of the cats have made a game of who can entice him first. Their husbands are no more amused than I am."

"Then he poses no danger to the debutantes?" Hiei shrugged at Kurama's curious look. "I hear things. When I do set out to eavesdrop, I'm never caught. The phrase 'fox in a henhouse' comes up frequently."

Kurama smiled. Hiei had taken the open door as an invitation to listen. Had he been eavesdropping he wouldn't have remained to be seen. Kurama appreciated the warning. "Naruto's hormones are absurd given his age. I can only assume that's a result of him having no interaction with cats at all growing up. Despite that, he's no threat to anyone who isn't interested. He's more liable to be lured off and trapped into marriage by a debutante than he is to compromise one himself. No, it's the older cats who catch his nose, and vice versa. I'm hoping his new mate will keep him too focused to be lured into trouble."

"Cats are territorial," Hiei remarked. He sniffed at Kurama's pleased smile. "I'm not offering to fight your milkfed suitors, but I'll do my part to keep them at bay. Being seen is no hardship on my part."

Kurama's smile faltered at that. "So you did hear everything. I'm not usually so…blunt."

"Youth requires bluntness," Hiei said dismissively. His only regret was not getting to see Kurama's face when he was talking to the kit about ball size. Judging by that awkwardly stiffened silver tail, Kurama was embarrassed to have been overheard. Hiei gave him a delving look. "Do you always play by the rules of Society?"

"No," Kurama admitted. Was Hiei asking him to shed that front? Tempted as he was, he didn't dare do so with Naruto nearby or he might ruin all of his efforts over the last few years. He smiled wryly. "I have become quite a stickler for the rules since taking Naruto under my wing."

"And before that?"

Kurama let the smile fade. Hiei wasn't making small talk or asking out of idle curiosity. "What are you asking me, Hiei?"

Had the fox not been so tall, Hiei could have pulled him down and answered the question himself. He had heard Kurama's opinion on how a mate should be respected, whether he was being paid for his services or not. He had to wonder how much Kurama's dealings with him would be influenced by the fox's need to keep up a front of polite respect. Hiei slipped past him to perch on the windowsill. Kurama didn't hesitate to follow him. That was something.

"Why didn't you mate with me last night?" asked Hiei.

Kurama sighed. It was difficult to woo a cat who bluntly called him out for being considerate. He sat on the edge of the bed across from him. "I would like to be on good terms with you when our temporary association is finished. I'm not a hormonal kit who can't keep his tail to himself. You can join me in bed any time you like without fear that I'll take advantage of you."

"Take advantage?" Hiei snorted. "You're paying me to be your mate. You can't take advantage of your own mate."

"I believe you can," Kurama said firmly. "I won't do that unless I'm invited to do so."

Hiei's eyes widened. "You were waiting for an invitation? I came to your room of my own accord. That wasn't invitation enough?"

Kurama dropped his eyes, slipping his tail onto his lap so he could idly brush the fur with his fingers. "I took that as an invitation to enjoy your company." He flicked the bristling cat a coy smile. "Which I do."

Hiei huffed and shifted irritably. The fox was flirting with him again. As if there was a need to when he was already his for the taking. "It's no wonder you don't have an heir yet," he scoffed. That kit of his had more initiative than he did. Not that Hiei would point that out after overhearing the 'six times' talk. Even Kurama's 'two or three' sounded excessive. But they could have at least mated once so he would know exactly what he was getting himself into. "If you need an invitation, consider yourself invited. I'm no more a virgin than you are."

"Perhaps not. Technically," Kurama murmured as he fussed with his tail. "But you smell like one." He heard the indrawn breath and his hands stilled. Silence spread over the room until he wondered if Hiei had slipped out the window. Then he felt the bed dip beside him and caught the black from the corner of his eye.

"What do I smell like to you?" Hiei demanded quietly. "Have you smelled anyone like me before?"

"You smell fresh," Kurama admitted. "As fresh as an untouched kitten, yet not like a cat at all. I've never heard of a male cat impregnating a female fox so it's no wonder I've never smelled anyone quite like you."

"I was never a kitten," Hiei growled, "just small." He curled his hands so tightly his short claws bit into his palms. "I must have cut her being born. The dog who raised me said my claws were torn out. It took years for them to grow back."

Years as a curious-smelling kitten with no claws. Kurama leaned sideways into him as his stomach clenched bitterly. Hiei's tail brushed against his own, but it didn't cling so Kurama didn't put an arm around him like he wanted to. "Were you going to tell me your sister was kept by a household of foxes?"

"Only if necessary," Hiei muttered. "If I encounter any who have been near her, I'm sure I'll recognize her scent. I didn't expect you to catch my scent, let alone guess what it meant." He pushed back against Kurama's shoulder. The fox was too heavy to be leaning on him. He leaned on Kurama instead. "I've gotten good at keeping my scent suppressed. It only leaks when I'm in heat."

"Then you do go into heat. That's good to know."

Hiei huffed. "Unfortunately. That's the only time I actually feel like a cat." That was also the only time he reacted to scent. He wouldn't tell Kurama that. The fox might decide to postpone any mating until his next heat. Hiei didn't want his first time mating by choice to be done in a hormonal haze. Kurama was attractive and confident and as a fox would probably take pride in making it good for him. Hiei huffed again, longer this time, and curled his tail around Kurama's. Was that invitation enough?

It certainly was. Kurama was too much a fox to decline an invitation like that. He pulled Hiei into his arms, feeling the lithe form hidden away by that dratted cloak. Hiei opened up to his kiss, more relieved than eager which was a blow to Kurama's ego. Hiei kissed him back, though, with a tentative curiosity Kurama did his best to welcome and encourage. Where Hiei's scent was muted mystery, his taste was pure cat, hungry and curious and delicious. Kurama pulled him closer until he felt Hiei's hands come up to catch in his hair. He stroked his own hands along Hiei's back, taking care not to venture near his tail, which was curled tightly around his own. It was be so easy to catch that tail and overwhelm him. Kurama preferred to feed his curiosity just enough to leave him wanting more. If Hiei didn't feel like a cat it was because he didn't feel at home in his own body. Kurama looked forward to helping him with that. There was more to mating than scents and instincts. He would teach him to love his body by loving it himself. Starting with that suspiciously well-spoken mouth of his.

Kurama kissed the way he conversed, as if it were a dance only he knew the true steps for. Hiei had realized last night that he didn't care for dancing. But he was nothing if not a quick learner. He accepted the invitation to explore the fox's mouth and found he liked the taste of him. He wasn't as comfortable with Kurama exploring his own mouth. He worried about his teeth, which he knew were unnaturally sharp even for a cat. He opened his mouth wider, trying to cover them with his lips, but that only had Kurama pressing closer, deeper, until Hiei was in as much danger of being cut as he was. Maybe Kurama wanted a bit of blood with this meal. Hiei stopped worrying about it. If he had to protect Kurama from his teeth the fox had no business in his mouth to begin with. He pushed into the kiss, knowing full well this was all he would be getting if he didn't do something to change Kurama's mind. He could smell the fox's attraction for him and there was no urgency to it whatsoever. Kurama wanted him, but no more than he had last night when he had barely even touched him. As frustrating as it was, Hiei didn't know how to change that.

Naruto reminded Kurama of his existence as rudely as only a horrified kit could. "Oh, my Gag! At least wait till I'm out of the room! My eyes! I'm gonna barf!"

Kurama's ears flattened and had Hiei not been pressing so close he was nearly in his lap he would have pulled free to verbally flay that rude brat. Then Hiei really was in his lap, chest pressing close and legs straddling his own, and Kurama decided his new mate had the right of it. Far better to ignore the kit than to acknowledge him as the interruption he was trying to be. Besides, Hiei's grip on his hair was so strong he doubted he could have lifted his head even if he had wanted to. He would reprimand Naruto later, especially for slamming the door so loudly on the way out. For now he was curious to see just how demanding Hiei could be for a cat whose tail was restraining his own like a steel whip. Hiei's mind might be impatiently set on mating, but his body clearly was not. As much as Kurama enjoyed Hiei's mouth, it was Hiei's tail he would be listening to.

.-.

Renji was woken by the gurgling of his own stomach. Byakuya would have been more amused by that if it didn't serve as a reminder that his guests hadn't been fed the night before. The two girls in particular were too small to be missing meals. He would assign someone to see to their needs, assuming Matsumoto didn't volunteer for the role. He watched from the corner of his eye as Renji stretched and squirmed his way fully awake. He was glad he had reconsidered and thrown the blanket over him before admitting Hinamori. From the way Renji's knees were spread that robe of his must be gaping wide open. No servant was going to see that much of his mate whether it furthered his cause or not. He was already regretting letting the girl see him with his hair down, mussed and messy as it was.

Renji floundered his way up so he could brace his elbows on his knees and cradle his sore head in his hands. He was starving and his head felt thick. He never drank on an empty stomach. Only idiots did that. So why was he in a strange bed with his stomach empty, his head throbbing, and his body feeling like he'd been slapped around all night? His breath caught in his throat as a horrible possibility sprang to mind. He did a quick check. His ass felt fine, tail intact, nothing wrong with his cock that a little masturbation wouldn't fix, and although his mouth could use a toothbrush and some rinse there was nothing gross in there. He hadn't gotten drunk and been reamed by a weird dog. Thank fuck. He let out a long sigh and was all set to flop back on the deliciously soft bed when his nose twitched. Cats. Faint, but definitely cats. His cat and a female. He had a cat now. How the hell had he forgotten he had a cat now? He turned his head and stared blankly at Byakuya, his cat, and the little black-haired female fixing his cat's hair. Not only did he have a cat, he had a cat who required a maid to fix his hair. Renji blinked slowly as he watched the girl pull the last free bit of that black hair tight as if the strands were criminals to be locked away. What a cold thing to do to such pretty hair.

"Is tying it up like that really necessary?" asked Renji.

Byakuya's eyebrow rose. The dog sounded rather lucid for someone who looked half asleep. "These clasps are a Kuchiki tradition." A tradition he resented more with each passing year and each coinciding clasp. He sent another sharp look at Hinamori's reflection in the mirror. She was quiet and quick and Matsumoto had pleaded for him to give her this job. She was also young and far too interested in his new mate. He forgave her blush, but if she didn't learn to control her scent he would have to replace her for the duration of Renji's stay. It didn't matter that Renji hadn't noticed her entering the room and showed no interest in her even now. A female cat shouldn't release her scent so freely around any dog. Matsumoto would have to speak with the girl before she got herself into trouble. "Thank you, Hinamori. You may go now."

Renji frowned when the poor girl all but bolted from the room. "She's scared to death of you. Are you a bully or what?" Byakuya sent him a look that made him stiffen and scowl. "What?"

No dog was that oblivious. Byakuya eyed the red marring Renji's forehead. "Did the injury to your head affect your sense of smell?"

"Ah, shit," Renji grimaced, slapping a hand over his forehead. There was some swelling after all, right between his eyes. No wonder he had forgotten he had a cat. He was in Byakuya's bed and he could barely smell him. How was that for fair? "We got caught up in a dog fight on the way to the car," he admitted. "Some fool cats brought a kitten out and the locals went nuts. The stupid tomcat made it worse than it should have been. They were picked up by a wolf, though, in a car as big and fancy as yours. What are the odds of that?"

"Indeed," Byakuya murmured. There had been foxes in the mingling hall last night. He hadn't recognized them, but he could only think of one fox who would deign to use a wolf as a driver. He and Youko Kurama acquiring temporary mates in the same slum on the same night? What, indeed, were the odds of that? "Did you know these cats?"

"No. The girls made friends with the female, but the tom had to be a stray. I'd know if that cat had ever picked a fight in our area. He made a hell of a mess." He'd had a hell of a scent, too, but Renji wasn't going to admit that. The crazy little cat could have been right in the mingling hall rubbing all over him and he wouldn't have even noticed him over Byakuya. He might not be able to smell his cat very well at the moment, but his eyes were quick to assure him he'd made a hell of a catch. "You look awfully pretty in the morning, Byakuya-hime. I'm sorry I missed your bed-hair, though."

Byakuya rose from his chair. "You will have to wake much earlier to catch me looking even half as unkempt as you presently do." He crossed to the wardrobe and removed a black robe. "Wear this when you return to your room." His eyes dropped to the ridiculous pink drooping off Renji's shoulders. "You may leave that here to sleep in if you choose, but I will not have you walking through my halls in it." He placed the robe on the edge of the bed and turned for the door. "Breakfast will be served within the hour. I will send someone to your room to show you the way."

"No good morning kiss?" Renji pouted when he didn't even get a slammed door for his efforts. True, his mouth tasted foul enough that he wouldn't have really wanted that to be Byakuya's first taste of him, but still. Cats weren't supposed to be morning people. Rukia had been a damn night owl when he first picked her up, prowling all night and napping all day. Even now she slept in much later than he did. He grumbled all the way to the edge of the bed. If his cat was a morning person he'd definitely have to get up earlier. He hadn't just missed the bed-hair. He'd missed the chance to watch Byakuya swish around in one of these robes. He picked the robe up and groaned at how silky it was. Byakuya might be uptight, but he obviously appreciated creature comforts. This robe would be pure torture on his morning wood. He happily exchanged it for his own.

He eyed the flowery pink fondly before going off to wake the girls. He looked horrible in that pink thing, downright silly in fact. But Byakuya apparently liked it enough to want him to continue sleeping in it. That was just too damn cute for words. He left with a smug grin that lasted all the way to his room, where he remembered he was sharing a bathroom with two girls. So much for silky torture first thing in the morning. He barely had time to brush his teeth before a servant showed up to take them to breakfast.

.-.

A knee to the crotch brought Ichigo to groggy consciousness. A blow would have had him yiping wide awake. A rub might have had him spreading his legs for a little more. This was a brief press just hard enough to hurt that had him tensing and then cringing at the hot throbbing in his head. Booze. Sleeping on a narrow couch. With a cat. That knee caught him again as Ishida scrambled off him, leaving him cold and sore and feeling like a dumbass. He'd seen his dad after one of his monthly walk-abouts, so hungover he whimpered at the slightest noise. He knew better than to drink so much, especially without eating first. Yet a bleary glance at the table showed just how many bottles they had put away. Only the fact that Ishida had gotten up kept him from closing his eyes in the hopes of sleeping off the worst of it. Ishida had never drank in his life. If Ishida could get up and answer the door, then Ichigo could lift his head and look over at him without dying. He managed the feat without his brain splurting out of his ears, though it definitely tried. He blinked the gunk out of his eyes just in time to see Ishida shut the door and stand there with his head bowed for what felt like an hour or two. And Ishida wanted them to drink harder stuff tonight? There was no way.

Ishida snapped into motion so suddenly Ichigo flinched, and then wished he hadn't. It was too soon for fast movements. Too soon for him, anyway. The cat didn't seem to have that problem. He watched him clench a fist around a little slip of paper and belatedly realized that was why he'd been standing so still. He'd been reading a note. A note that came sailing across the room to land in one of the empty glasses they had used before drinking right out of the bottles. Ichigo blinked at the bit of paper and then looked up to see Ishida stalk off to his bedroom with a slashing tail and a growl that sounded like 'show him useful'. It wasn't until he heard the bathroom door slam that he realized he was being shown up. If that glasses-wearing cat was up and about so quick and coordinated Ichigo sure as hell wasn't going to be a hungover lump who could barely lift his head without whining. He sat up with a determined scowl and ignored his head's attempts to explode and his stomach's attempts to surge its way up and out of his mouth. He was the dog here, after all.

Despite his best efforts, sitting up was all he could manage at the moment. He made the most of it by fishing out the slightly damp note. It was just two lines in a sharp hand. 'See to our guests this afternoon. For once your aberrant interests might prove useful.'

Ichigo was still frowning at the lines when he heard the shower stop. He crumpled the note and dropped it back in the cup. Ishida had obviously taken exception to the 'useful' bit. Ichigo was more concerned with the 'aberrant interests' part. What the hell did aberrant mean? That sounded…kinky. He remembered enough of last night to know Ishida wasn't the least bit kinky. Maybe a little drunkenly bold with that nipple teasing, but booze messed with people that way. Ichigo flushed and squirmed as he recalled what he'd been doing with his own free hand. He'd pet the hell out of Ishida's tail. The nipple thing was nothing compared to that. No, his cat was a skittish prude who just happened to thaw out a little with alcohol. Whatever 'interests' he had couldn't be sexual anyway, not if they were supposed to be 'useful' with the 'guests.' He assumed he and Renji were the guests, and maybe the girls. Knowing his luck, aberrant was another word for nerdy and Ishida was going to show them to a library. This place was big enough for one.

He heard the bathroom door click open and looked over to see Ishida rubbing a towel over his hair. His already booze-dried mouth became a desert. No glasses, no shirt, no self-consciousness because he hadn't noticed Ichigo was staring at him with his dry mouth wide open, and no excess fat to hide the lithe muscles in his arms and shoulders. Ichigo's eyebrows smashed together so tightly he could feel the skin creasing. Ishida was slender and didn't weigh much. He'd confirmed that last night. But it was now clear that Ishida was most definitely not a nerd. Nerds were scrawny and bony and why hadn't he taken Ishida's shirt off last night? Aberrant, he thought furiously. What kind of interests toned a cat like that? Ishida was too skittish for fighting, had admitted last night that he didn't like violence, and his muscles weren't thick enough to pack a good punch. Swimming? But he was a cat, and he'd said cats didn't swim as a rule. Maybe he just worked out. Ichigo's eyes glazed at the hot yet bizarre thought of a sweaty half-dressed Ishida doing pushups. Surely not.

"You're awake?" asked Ishida.

Ichigo blinked and got just a glimpse of Ishida's damp tail as he vanished back into the bathroom. He sighed heavily. His new mate might be hotter than he'd realized, might even have some aberrant interests he was hiding away, but he was still too damned skittish. And quick! No one should move that fast after a night of drinking himself stupid. Ichigo's ears perked up when Ishida returned, but the towel had been exchanged for a shirt and glasses, and he really wished he had stripped him last night when he'd had the chance.

"Drink this," Ishida said, setting a glass on the table in front of him. "It's just water. Alcohol is a diuretic, so you may be dehydrated this morning. Water will help." He waited until Ichigo took a drink before sorting through the empty bottles. He took the ones with colored glass back to his room. "If you hurry you should have time to shower before breakfast," he said over his shoulder. "You might not feel like eating, but you should do it anyway. I'll be taking the two of you shopping today, and it's no telling how long that will take."

"Shopping?"

"Apparently," Ishida muttered. He smiled bitterly as he returned to bag up the remaining bottles and wipe down the table. "I've been challenged to make myself useful. That means the three of us will be out for most of the day."

Because his aberrant interests applied to shopping? Ichigo's stomach did an unpleasant roll as his hungover brain again tried to equate aberrant to kinky. Surely not. And it wouldn't just be the three of them. This was probably a good time to warn Ishida about the girls. He glanced warily at Ishida's tight smile and snapping tail, and changed his mind. He'd tell him on the way to breakfast. He chugged the water and all but bolted for the door. "I'll go get ready."

"Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?" Ishida called after him.

"Sure." He just hoped that was long enough to get rid of the image of himself dressed in kinky leather while Ishida worked those arm and shoulder muscles with a whip. Obviously he was still drunk. Ishida might look sleek and dangerously sexy this morning, but Ichigo knew better. His cat was a skittish prude who became surprisingly sweet and affectionate under the influence of alcohol. The poor cat couldn't even brush and rub without getting drunk off his ass. If he did have aberrant interests, it was probably for painting bugs or something. Yeah. Because wielding a brush really worked those arm muscles. Honestly, Ichigo didn't even want to know anymore. He preferred his uptight and shy cat over this edgy one with aberrant interests. He hoped this house really did have a library. He seriously needed to look that word up.

.-.  
TBC


End file.
